A large, attraction-style Gulf Coast farm combining choose-and-cut trees with camel rides, a free train, and a live nativity, making it more of a half-day family outing than a quick tree pickup -- though a per-tree price still isn't published.
Farm's site links to a price list but specific per-foot or per-tree rates were not captured; camel/pony rides are $10 per ride.
Fish River Trees, on Alabama’s Gulf Coast about five miles east of Fairhope, is built at a different scale than most farms in this research. It combines choose-and-cut trees with a free weekend train ride, paid camel and pony rides, a live animal manger scene, and select Santa-visit weekends – more of a half-day family attraction than a quick errand to grab a tree.
South Alabama’s coastal climate doesn’t suit true fir species well, and Fish River doesn’t pretend otherwise. Its own choose-and-cut selection leans on varieties that actually thrive locally: Virginia pine, Leyland and Murray cypress, Carolina Sapphire, Blue Ice, Clemson Greenspire, and Portuguese cypress. For buyers who specifically want the classic Fraser or Noble fir look, the farm supplements its own-grown stock with shipped-in, already-cut trees of those species – described on the farm’s own site as “shipped fresh” rather than farm-grown. That’s a straightforward, honest way to serve both kinds of buyers without claiming to grow something the local climate won’t support.
Unlike most of the other farms in this batch, Fish River has one genuinely concrete number in the record: camel and pony rides run $10 each, on weekends. That’s simple enough to budget around directly – if you’ve got two kids and each wants one ride of each kind, that’s four rides at $10 apiece, or $40 total, separate from whatever the tree itself costs. The free weekend Tannenbaum Express train ride doesn’t carry that same cost, which is worth noting as a genuine value alongside the paid rides.
Here’s the honest limitation. The farm’s own site links out to a price list for the trees themselves, but the specific per-foot or per-tree rate wasn’t captured during this research. That means, despite everything else confirmed about this farm, there’s still no number to give you for the actual tree – the thing most visitors are ultimately there to buy. Check the farm’s linked price list directly, or ask when you arrive, before assuming a total cost for the trip.
The 2025 season ran daily from 8 AM to 5 PM, November 22 through December 21, closed only on Thanksgiving Day – a notably longer and more predictable stretch than farms in this batch that run on a handful of specific weekend dates. That length suggests less urgency to rush the very first weekend compared to farms with shorter or sellout-prone seasons. Beyond the tree and the paid rides, the farm also participates in Trees for Troops, a donation program, and offers tree flocking service for anyone who wants a snow-dusted look.
Fish River is a genuinely bigger day-trip destination than most farms in this research, with honest handling of the fir-species climate mismatch and one real, confirmed price point in the rides. The missing piece is the tree price itself – budget for at least the $10-per-ride cost of any camel or pony rides you add, and check the farm’s price list separately for the tree.
The 2025 season ran daily from Nov. 22 through Dec. 21, 8 AM to 5 PM, closed only on Thanksgiving Day itself. That's one of the longer, more predictable windows in this batch, so unlike farms that sell out fast, there's less urgency to rush the very first weekend here.
Not stated directly, but between the free weekend train, paid camel and pony rides, a live animal manger scene, and select Santa-visit weekends, this reads as a multi-hour family outing rather than a fast tree pickup -- a reasonable inference from the scope of activities, not a stated duration.
Not stated directly, but a farm combining a free weekend train, paid camel and pony rides, and select Santa weekends is the kind of attraction-heavy setup that tends to draw larger weekend crowds than a simple tree lot -- a reasonable inference, not a confirmed crowd pattern here specifically.
Not described in the source material.
Not addressed in the source material.
Skip Fish River if you want a quick, no-frills tree pickup rather than a bigger day-trip destination, since this farm is built around a full slate of paid and free attractions beyond the tree itself, and skip it if you need a confirmed per-tree price before committing, since none was captured from the farm's own price list.
Described in the record as about 5 miles east of Fairhope, which may suit visitors already planning a Fairhope-area trip.
$10 per ride for each, on weekends, per the farm's own site.
The farm's site links to a price list, but the specific per-foot or per-tree rate wasn't captured during this research, so no figure can be given here. Check the farm's own price list or ask on arrival.
No. The farm describes those varieties as 'shipped fresh' rather than farm-grown, since true firs generally don't suit coastal south Alabama's climate. Its own choose-and-cut trees are Virginia pine, Leyland and Murray cypress, Carolina Sapphire, Blue Ice, Clemson Greenspire, and Portuguese cypress.
The 2025 season ran daily, 8 AM to 5 PM, from November 22 through December 21, closed only on Thanksgiving Day. 2026 dates weren't posted at the time of this research.
2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. In past seasons it has run: Daily (2025 season: Nov 22-Dec 21, closed Thanksgiving Day). Check with the farm before driving out.
Pricing was not published when we last checked. Farm's site links to a price list but specific per-foot or per-tree rates were not captured; camel/pony rides are $10 per ride.
Yes. It's choose-and-cut (staff cuts it for you).
13982 Woodhaven Dairy Road E, Summerdale, AL 36580, in Baldwin County. It is one of 1 farms we track in South Alabama (Gulf Coast).
Map pin is set to the town centre. Navigate to the street address above, not the pin.
fishrivertrees.com · thebamabuzz.com
Checked September 2026.