This is the best tree farm we've ever been too! We normally go to one of the tree farms at Apple hill for the experience and then end up buying a tree at a local store since we've had trouble before finding a nice tree at one of the tree farms. This tree farm not only had plenty of Christmas trees, but the prices were great! We bought a 7 foot Douglas fir tree for only $30! When we first got there we also got some snacks. We got 2 hotdogs, 2 chip bags & 2 sodas for only $8! I was surprised this place wasn't more crowded but maybe not enough people know about it which is why I had to leave a review! If you're planning on going, just know that we called to check that they were open. They let us know that while they were open they stop letting people in at 2:00 but the lot stays open until 4:30. read more

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It was one of the most amazing Christmas tree farms that I have been to. I highly recommend it. It was very well organized. A map and welcoming instructions were given at the entrance. Loads of tree areas to choose from. They had organized a horse wagon rides. The office was well staffed and multiple people were available to help everywhere. They had also a gift shop, bakery and sider sales shop. All accepted credit cards with modern terminals. Nice sitting area to enjoy the drinks. A small minigolf area even. Trees were well organized and a lot to choose from. We found really nice one. All trees have price tag one them and easy to choose based on the budget. Last mile is not signed and had to depend on GPS and it was of the main road, but maps app took us there. read more

We are so sad that they are permanently closed. I spoke to one of the staff and asked her to convey our appreciation to the family for all the wonderful memories. We're going to miss those cookies, too! read more

This is family favorite and tradition! My family makes the drive all the way up here just to get our Christmas tree. Let me tell you that this place is worth any drive and the tree almost falling off the car on the freeway any day! This year when we came there just happened to be snow. This has not happened for us before. The snow just added so much to our experience of being able to cut down our own tree. We had snow ball fights and built a snow man. While walking through the hills to pick the perfect tree we had the most beautiful scenery! We got the most gorgeous trees and at a very reasonable price. The staff is always so welcoming. The people are friendly and ready just to talk and help. When you come you have to check out the house at the top of the hill. There is a bake shop with the best chocolate chip cookies and shoo fly pie. You can buy tickets for horse carriage rides or a spin on the carousel. Coming here every year is always a good time. read more

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Had an amazing time picking out a tree with the family. All staff were extremely friendly and helpful.

Such a beautiful tree farm! We had such a fun time on the horse rides, carousel rides, and the hot dogs were delicious! Everything from the service to the Christmas trees were perfect, so much fun read more

North Star Tree Farm - Big tree - Christmas Trees Near Me - Placerville, California

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My husband and I went here a few years ago and it took us about 2 hours to find the right tree. There's a lot of ground to cover, and lots of steep inclines. The follows at the farm are real nice, and give you advice as to where to go, and give you a saw, and let you lose. The tree selection is just ok, and the prices seemed kind of high. We had gotten a flyer from someone for the tree farm this year and thought we were going to a new/different tree farm than previously, but as we drove into the entrance it was obvious we had been there before. We all had a good chuckle. We looked for a tree for about 2 hours again this time, but only 10% of them are tagged for cutting down so even if you find one you like there's no guarantee you'll get to cut it down. I will say the apple cider for 50 cents a glass was really good, but I'd really like to check another tree farm out next year. Sad to say, walmart and home depot have a perfect size tree for our family at only $20 cost compared to about $40 at the tree farm. read more

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We have been coming to North Star Tree Farm for 20 years. As of Thanksgiving 2017, they are charging a 10.00 parking fee or in the words of the owner, "gate fee". After we successfully hunted down our tree for this year and I when I was paying, I told the owner I wasn't too keen to hear about the 10.00 parking "gate" fee. She completely mishandled the situation and insulted me for complaining. So much so, we are not coming back. We took down 20 years of pictures and walked out the door only to be confronted by the owner again who said that the pictures where her property. She got very ugly about the situation and caused a scene. For a small tree farm that is basically located out in the middle of nowhere, I think they have alot of gaul charging people who are driving from Sacramento to patronize their small business. People in Sacramento can go anywhere to get a Christmas tree. From what the owner told me, they no longer want people who come there to eat their homemade cookies or ride the rides, they want people that are going to buy Christmas Trees. Today, the nice boy at the gate told me they had about 100 cars today and only 5 cars that had people that just wanted to buy the cookies and ride the rides. Seems to me those people are still putting money in their pocket. After 20 years, we are done with North Star. They could have handled the fee a whole lot different - charge more for trees, penalize people that leave with no trees, charge more than .50 for things like water and a 1.00 for hot dogs. Charging people 10.00 sure comes across as a money grab and I will take my holiday spending elsewhere. -Dan Hayward read more

The staff here are amazing. We get our Christmas tree here every year and is just such a great family atmosphere

Found a beautiful 9' tree too fast....in the first 15 minutes! But we still spent over 3 hours with our 11 year old, 8 year old, wife and inlaws (and there was no $10 parking fee on 11/25/17 per previous review). Just make sure you phone is charged and you got space to take a lot of pictures and videos! 1. Hiked around the beautiful property 2. Took turns cutting down the tree getting lots of pictures and videos. 3. Did horse drawn wagon ride (buy tickets where you pay for trees at top. I think was $1 per person...plus we tipped the driver) 4. Did tractor ride to kids ornament workshop (buy tickets from where you pay for trees at top. I think was $1 per person) 5. Kids created some beautiful pinecone decerations (free with tons of glitter, glue and other things to keep them going!) 6. Went fishing (FREE, though $7 per fish if you catch and take home...poles and bait are basic, but fun if you want to fish and don't fish much). Kids loved it. 7. Enjoyed the bakery and sitting by the open fire pits 8. Bought a couple of nutcracker dolls from the gift shop 9. Loved the drive from the Sacramento area as driving 193 from Placerville is always a scenic and a bit of a rush. All in all it is the perfect setting to get you in the mood for Christmas! read more

The most disappointing Holiday event ever. Don't waste your time. Every thing requires separate tickets, and an example is $13. a person (any age) to see a raindear, read more

My husband and his mom have been getting trees from here since he was a baby. Every year without fail, they have come here, even though the tree inventory has dropped dramatically we have come for nostalgia's sake. In years past, the farm always took Polaroid pictures each year and we would put our names and the year. My husband has pictures from every year, even with our own little ones now. We unexpectedly lost my mother in law this year, and as we are likely moving out of state, we asked if we could have the photos and they refused to let us and they said they don't belong to us. They said we could take pictures of the pictures, but we wanted the originals with her handwriting. For a place that has always been so special to our family to not let us have pictures of our beloved mom is just cruel. We are devastated and they have lost customers who have been faithfully coming every year. read more

I have been coming here just shy of 15 years! Me and my family love coming up here even though it is a 2-3 hour drive! It is worth it hands down. This farm is in the middle of nowhere tucked back into the mountains. A real adventure and nothing like what you find in the bay area. Just take a deep breath and youll know what I mean. We always go to the lower lot to get our trees (Douglas Firs). We have tried above but its just not our style. Make sure you are wearing hiking boots because the ground can get slippery and mushy espcially in the rain. Also the terrain is not flat so you need the grip. The real draw of this farm is that you get to hunt for your perfect tree and cut it down! Just like christmas movies! There is something satisfying about cutting down your own tree. After searching for the perfect tree and cutting it down we head up to the shop area. There is always a nice toasty for to warm up next to. Enjoy sweet treats from their bakery or other little items from the wreath shop. I personally love their semi-sweet chocolate chips. They arw ooey gooey and the perfect treat after hiking and hunting my tree down. There are sodas, waters and hot dogs you can enjoy by the fire too. We come the day after thanksgiving so we enjoy leftover sandwiches under the trees. We will for sure come back year after year. Side note-we have never paid or been asked to pay a gate fee. read more

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Everyone needs a little Christmas. If you have a tendency to be Scrooge-ish, take the scenic drive up Highway 193 from Highway 50 to Kelsey, CA and spend a little time at the North Star Tree Farm. At first, this place looks unassuming. And hard as heck to find. It's on top of a mountain so don't take your nice Mercedes or compact Prius. Be prepared to do a little walking in the woods, but nothing too strenuous. On 90 acres, you'll find a variety of beautiful and fragrant trees: the usual firs - Douglas, Noble, Red, White; cedar trees, Scotch pines and Sequoias. Most of the trees are tagged with prices. If you go in October you can tag your tree for later with a nominal deposit. In December, you can chop it down yourself (saws provided) and they'll wrap it up in mesh for you to take home. So what's the big deal about this place? It's the country atmosphere. It's that families like to go there for the hot chocolate, the country gift shop and the very tasty bakery (you must have a slice of the pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing). It's about the the hay bale tractor ride, the old-fashioned hand-cranked carousel, and wagon ride pulled by a couple of horses. It's the pond stocked with fish and the little pumpkin patch. It's the cool friendly people who run the place. And last but not least, it's the sustainable way the trees are grown and harvested. I overhead some people say they 've been coming here for years (say, 15) and that college-age kids come home just to do this. One guy said he's been coming for 6 years - from Reno. Bring a picnic lunch and let the kids the run around. Take a short hike and find your perfect Christmas tree. Marvel that this idyllic and unpretentious country setting can still be found. read more

Are you really closed tomorrow 11/29? Getting our tree here on the day after Thanksgiving has been a tradition of our family since 2007. Why aren't you open? read more

I've been coming here since I was a kid - I don't know how many toddler pictures I have on their wooden carousel! It's a crazy windy road to get there, but the people are always nice, you can tromp around in the foresty wilderness with abandon (and sometimes snow) and you can either saw down your own tree or some burly guys will do it for you. You can pick your tree from a little lot up front where they are easy to find (for the lazy people) or you can hunt down the perfect one in the woods. They have a cute bakery, ornament shop, and a giant collection of family photos from their regulars. If you buy a tree over $30 you get an invitation to come back next year and tag your tree in September/October so you aren't scrounging for what's left over come December. For me its the official launch of the holiday season, and a great excuse to get some fresh air. My fiance and I have been going back for four years now, and eventually it will be a tradition with our kids. read more

This could be a great tree farm - if they had trees. We wandered and found plenty of beautiful trees, but none of them were marked for sale. They pointed us in the direction of pre-cut trees, (where most people seemed to have ended up), but sorry - we didn't just drive through eight miles of some of the curviest roads in El Dorado County to just pick up a tree you had shipped in from elsewhere. :/ The ambience is great. There's a bakery and a hand cranked merry go round for the kids. On that note - it's not fun to get all the way to the merry go round with your children, then be told you need to buy tickets to ride it...that are only for sale in the sales center at the top of the very steep hill you just hiked down. I just don't get the logic. If you use GPS to get here, it may make you turn on where Shoo Fly road comes out. A sign there stating to turn around and take the next Shoo Fly Rd turn would be helpful. If you DO end up in the middle of literally nowhere, keep going, I promise the tree farm is there on your right. If there actually were decent trees available to cut down and maybe some better signage and instruction, this place would be worth the trip. Until that happens, save your time and money. It's less of a hassle to go to Apple Hill than deal with this. read more

Not sure why there are such exciting reviews. It's an ok tree farm, not any different or better than the many tree farms in close proximity. There weren't many people there, it was very dead for 2 weeks before Xmas, They have pre-cut trees trucked in from another location. Hot cider was some type of Lipton mix, not actual apple cider. The bakery was cute and the cookies were enjoyed by the children. The view of the snowcapped mountains by the bakery was nice. Wooden carousel was fun, except for the man operating it who was blasting some type of awful, techno, dance music. The horse carriage ride was exciting and fun ..well worth $2.50. Big huge clydesdales running fast, fun for any child over 5 and adult. read more

WARNING!!!! DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME!!!! North Star Tree farm is in the middle of no where and they charge a $10 parking fee. If that is not bad enough, they say they are open until 5pm but they lock their gates at 3pm. They say they have trees to cut but you can only cut trees that are marked with a price sticker...well you will be lucky to find a tree to cut!!! All the nice trees are reserved. You have to walk up and down steep, slippery hills to NOT find a single tree your allowed to cut. When my husband asked what the prices were for the trees they gave us a paper that said prices but that trees with a grey tag were $40 and up...(this was before we hiked the property and didn't find prices on trees), he asked if they were by the ft if they were a grey tag, the kid said no, it was by looks, so basically they could charge whatever they wanted once you cut the tree and dragged the thing up the mountain. The only tagged tree we say that we could cut was almost dead and would have made Charlie Browns tree look amazing....they had pre-cut trees that were shipped in from Oregon. Buy local....I guess not here...when we left with nothing but discuss, the guy at the gate, said, oh no tree? My husband said no, there were none to cut, nothing had a tag on it, there was no one to ask for help either. All the guy could say, was well I tagged over 800 trees my self, mind you his voice changed and he couldn't look at us. He was completely lying and the whole thing was a waste of time, gas, and $10. Also don't even try to come here if you are or have someone with you that is disabled or elderly, they won't make it, and no one will care or even help you. Horrible experience!!!! read more

This was our first year in the area. I asked around for where the best place was to go to have the most authentic holiday experience and North Star Tree Farm was recommended. They exceeded our expectations in every way! We loved Sarah, Dave and Jason and can't wait to go back again!!!! Best Christmas Tree EVER! read more

North Star Tree Farm - Best tree EVER! - Christmas Trees Near Me - Placerville, California

North Star is a family tradition, and for good reason. We look forward to the hunt for the perfect Christmas Tree, the gold mine, their gift shop and bakery, and $1 dollar hot dogs and hot cider each year. Their staff is friendly and casual, and they remember us each year. Return customers get an invitation to reserve a tree in October. We never make it though, and their selection is pretty limited by the time we make it up the hill in late November. Nevertheless, we always manage to find at least a few options to cut. And, there are plenty of beautiful pre-cut trees you can buy, too. read more

Perfect venue friendly people awesome trees and snacks. Make it a tradition and reserve your tree in October when you pick up your pumpkins for Halloween! Great concept!! And you can avoid the apple hill traffic jam! read more

We've been coming to North Star for years now, we always look forward to our trip in october to pre-select our tree and then coming back and slaying the beast. Last year we didn't make it do to family medical issues, so off the early list we went, no problemo, we come back this year and purchase a tree and get on the secret early list (not really a secret). On the way up, just happened to look on the facebook and saw someone claiming a $10 gate fee!?!?!?! What, no way, ridiculous. Why in gods name would they do that. Come to yelp, by now were at 50 and 49 about to turn north, and another mention of the gate fee. YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!!! Told the wife were pushing on, no way this is right. Pull up, and sure enough, $10 gate fee. Are you Freaking kidding me? Nice gentleman at the front, who we see every year, says yes, I tell him what I think about it as we put the truck in reverse and he says hold on, your old timers, will waive the fee. Thank you, but I'm not happy they instituted this. So we park, and begin our hunt. I already know the picking are gonna be slim, no worries will find something. We had a lovely walk over the entire property, found a tree. I gotta tell you though, they have doubled the prices on their trees. We purchased a "$40" tree, in years past if it was $20 - $25 I would be surprised. The prices on the "good trees" in the prime spots $95 - $105. Those were half the prices in years past. I understand there is a new owner named Dan. You just lost our business, double the prices and try to charge a gate fee, no wonder why no one was there on a Saturday Afternoon. Ill post photo's of the 4 cars in the parking lot and no one on the carosel. First time I have ever seen the place so empty. Way to go for the money grab northstar tree farm.... your losing customers and you don't know why. read more

The BEST tree farm EVER! North Star Tree Farm is THE place to take your family to get a Christmas tree. We made the trip with some friends over the weekend and will definitely go back next year. We pulled in and got a map and informational page telling us all about the prices, locations of certain types of trees and the proper way to cut the trees. Then we were personally greeted and directed to the parking lot. When we got to the lot we were greeted again and the new owner came over and spoke to us. He made us feel so welcome and there was no pressure to hurry up. This place is huge and a great for our 4 kiddos to run around. The worker's are very knowledgeable and didn't mind hiking up the hills a couple of time to answer our questions. The trees are tagged and easy to identify for price, etc. When we found our tree (a 16' for 25.00) we went to the old fashioned hand cranked merry-go-round. The owner's wife, daughter and baby were in charge of that and my kids had a great time. After the merry-go- round it was time to hit the bakery and get some hot cocoa. YUM YUM YUM! When we left we checked out and the original owner of the farm personally thanked us for coming and gave us a pamphlet of how to take care of our tree. The staff is amazing, the place is so family friendly and well worth the drive. A great place to spend lots of time to let the kids run and enjoy being outdoors. We can't wait to go early next year to reserve our tree in October. Thanks North Star Tree Farm! read more

This place is awesome. I've been coming here since I was born with my parents and now, this year, it will be with my first child.

This is a tree farm that you go to if you don't want to actually cut down a tree. We walked around for over an hour thinking that we would find a tree. We didn't find a single one worth taking home. Most of the trees weren't even for sale as they did not have "for sale" tags on them which is a requirement. There were a few that looked ok, but they had "sold" tags on them. We walked up to the bake shop and realized where to buy a tree. They had about 50 pre cut trees that were pretty nice, but a 5 foot one was 75 dollars! It gets two stars only because of the friendly staff and a cute wooden carousel. We won't be back. read more

Very cool place to visit! It is a family tradition for us. The old merry go round, the almost pee your pants wagon ride! The delicious baked goods and gift shop!! I bought my favorite nutcracker there. Red and white stripes with glitter all over it! My family loves North star tree farm!! read more

I love this place!!! I've been going for three years now and I love how it's not the typical Apple Hill place and you aren't with a huge crowd. It's a huge location in the middle of a beautiful forest. You can tell they really take care of their trees. They have a wonderful bakery and you can sit and enjoy the amazing Mountain View. The staff is really helpfully with locating what type of tree you are looking for. They have horses and hay rides. Even a pond where the kids can fish. I tell everyone to come here to get their tree!!! read more

We've been coming to North Star tree farm for over twenty years and today it is one of our family's favorite Christmas traditions. My sister and I can't wait to drive up and get the tree - we've shared the tradition with our partners who say this is the best Christmas experience that they've found - coming all the way from France and the East coast! The staff feels like family and they even sent us a kind note when our family dog passed away this year. Even though we come for the whole experience, I can say that the trees are more than reasonably priced. For a beautiful 15' Douglas fur we'd pay easily $80-100 in the bay and here we only pay $35-40, making it well worth the ride. If you buy a tree for $30 or more they will wave the $10 gate fee and invite you to a VIP fall visit where you can enjoy the farm in full fall colors, grab a pumpkin and pick out your tree in advance! It's an all around incredible family experience. I can't say enough about the wonderful staff and incredible owners who make it a point to get to know all of their customers !! read more

This farm made all my tree-farm dreams come true! Staff were so friendly and knowledgeable. The 90-acre woods were gorgeous. It isn't just a place to find your tree, but a wonderful country farm where you can easily spend a whole afternoon. Trees were abundant and cost half to a mere fraction of the price compared to those available in the lots near our urban house. We loved the views, bakery, outdoor fireplace, old fashioned carousel and the bunny house. We also really appreciated how many of the trees were not tagged for sale so that the forest may regenerate and maintain the right conditions for regrowth. We will be back! read more

Absolutely magical. Out in the woods, there is a gorgeous hand-cranked wooden carousel, little fishing ponds, a rabbit in a hutch, horses, a little pumpkin patch (in October), and trees, trees, trees...so many to choose from! It's a drive but well worth the effort. We sometimes bring a picnic and sometimes eat a hot dog around one of the wood stove fires. read more

Our family has been going to North Star for over ten years. The first reviewer told it right. Yes, the trees cost more than Walmart but the experience of wandering through the beautiful forest over pine needle strewn paths, breathing the crisp, clean air makes it worth it. The bakery and gift shop are also amazing and the people who work there all very helpful and sweet. Our day-after-Thanksgiving visit to North Star is a highlight of our Christmas season. read more