A Certified Naturally Grown farm near Harvard with over 10,000 Fraser firs, clear per-foot pricing with a 6.5-foot minimum charge, free saws and wagon rides, and confirmed card acceptance — opening Nov 27, 2026.
Pines start at $52 ($8/ft, 6.5 ft minimum); firs and spruces start at $98 ($15/ft, 6.5 ft minimum). Per the farm's own website for the 2026 season.
Ben’s Christmas Tree Farm, in Harvard, opens for its 2026 season on November 27, per its own website — a specific, farm-confirmed date rather than a resolved estimate. The farm describes itself as Certified Naturally Grown, meaning it’s grown without herbicides or pesticides, and reports a large Fraser fir inventory of over 10,000 trees among 8 total varieties, though only Fraser fir is named specifically in the record; the other seven varieties aren’t identified by species in the sources checked.
Ben’s uses a per-foot pricing model with a 6.5-foot minimum charge, split into two species tiers. Pines run $8 per foot, working out to a $52 starting price at the minimum height. Firs and spruces run $15 per foot, starting at $98 at that same 6.5-foot minimum. The minimum-charge detail matters in a specific way: if you’re hoping for a small, inexpensive tree well under 6.5 feet, you won’t save money by choosing a shorter one — it’s billed at the minimum regardless. Scaling the fir/spruce rate up, a 9-foot tree at $15/foot comes to $135, using only the numbers published on the farm’s own site.
Saws are provided, and netting/baling service is available, per the record, so there’s no need to bring your own gear. On payment, Ben’s accepts cash, checks, and credit cards — a real point of contrast with several nearby cash-only farms in this same research batch, and worth knowing if a card is your preferred way to pay.
The farm’s own site describes Santa and a horse-drawn wagon appearing on weekends, roughly between 10am and 3pm. That’s a genuine draw for families, but it also means weekends will likely be busier and more festive than weekday visits, and a weekday trip may not include either. If seeing Santa is the point of the visit, plan for a weekend and roughly that midday window.
Weekday hours run 9am to 4:30pm; weekend hours shift later, opening at 10am and closing at the same 4:30pm. That’s a narrower weekend morning window than some farms that open at 9am on weekends too, so an early-riser weekend visit should still expect a 10am opening here.
Ben’s combines a large, specifically Fraser-fir-heavy inventory, transparent per-foot pricing, free saws, and broad payment options with a genuine weekend Santa-and-wagon draw — a strong overall package, with the main caveat being that the 6.5-foot minimum charge means there’s no real discount for choosing a small tree.
The farm's own site states plainly that it opens Nov 27, 2026. Weekday hours run 9am-4:30pm; weekend hours run 10am-4:30pm. Santa and the horse-drawn wagon typically appear midday on weekends, per the farm's own site, which makes weekends busier but more festive.
Not stated as a number, but with free wagon rides, a Santa visit on weekends, and a large field to walk across 8 named varieties, plan for more than a quick in-and-out stop, especially on a weekend.
Not stated directly, but with Santa and horse-drawn wagon rides typically appearing midday on weekends, per the farm's own site, weekends will draw more families than weekday visits.
Not described in the record.
Not addressed in the source.
Skip a weekday visit if seeing Santa and the wagon rides matters, since those appear to be a weekend-only feature, and be aware that even a short tree is billed at the 6.5-foot minimum rate, so this isn't the cheapest option if you specifically want a small tree.
Conifera Tree Farm, also in Harvard, is a separate property in the same town, with a wider spruce selection if Ben's inventory doesn't have what you're looking for.
Pines start at $52 ($8 per foot, 6.5-foot minimum); firs and spruces start at $98 ($15 per foot, 6.5-foot minimum), per the farm's own website for the 2026 season.
Yes. Both pricing tiers apply a 6.5-foot minimum, so a tree shorter than that is still billed as if it were 6.5 feet.
Yes — Ben's accepts cash, checks, and credit cards, per the record, unlike several nearby cash-only farms.
The farm's own site describes Santa and horse-drawn wagon rides appearing on weekends, roughly 10am-3pm, making weekends the more festive but busier option.
Opens November 27, 2026 (closing date not published). Daily. Hours: Weekdays 9:00am–4:30pm; weekends 10:00am–4:30pm.
Trees start at $52. Pines start at $52 ($8/ft, 6.5 ft minimum); firs and spruces start at $98 ($15/ft, 6.5 ft minimum). Per the farm's own website for the 2026 season.
Yes. It's cut-your-own, and a saw is provided.
7719 Ryan Road, Harvard, IL 60033, in McHenry County. It is one of 8 farms we track in Northern Illinois.
We track 8 farms in Northern Illinois, 6 of which let you cut your own tree. At $52 to start this one sits below the regional median of $68, undercutting 1 of the 2 priced farms we track here.
What sets it apart locally: it has a hayride or sleigh ride, free netting/baling, which most Northern Illinois farms on our list do not.
There are 5 other farms we track in McHenry County. All Northern Illinois farms →
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
benstreefarm.com
Checked September 2026.