A real working cypress grove on the Hamakua Coast with genuinely useful early-tagging and reservation options, though its own website gives season dates without a year, so treat the 2026 window as a reasonable estimate rather than a confirmed fact.
'Select-a-Size Tree' $72-$144 per farm's own website; $20 'Forest Family Ticket' admission is credited toward a tree purchase; gift cards $25-$100.
Hamakua Christmas Tree Forest runs a working grove of more than 1,000 Portuguese and Arizona cypress trees on the Hamakua Coast, about half a mile up Piha Kahuku Road off Highway 19. Like every tree farm in this state, it isn’t growing traditional firs or spruces – Hawaii’s climate doesn’t give those species the cold dormancy they need, so cypress fills in as the substitute “Christmas tree” here. Visually and by scent, that’s a real difference from a mainland fir: cypress has finer, scale-like foliage rather than long needles, a lighter and less overtly “piney” smell, and a softer overall shape. If you’re coming from a place where a Fraser or Douglas fir is the default mental image, expect something different, not a lesser version of the same thing.
The farm’s own website lists a daily season running November 15 through December 24, with early tree-tagging days on November 1 and November 8, plus by-appointment weekday visits before Thanksgiving. That’s a genuinely useful structure if it holds – tagging a tree in early November means you’re not competing for selection once the general season opens. The catch: the farm’s site gives these dates without stating a year, so this record has resolved them to the 2026 season as a reasonable assumption, not a confirmed fact from a year-stamped source. Hours are listed as 10am-4pm daily on the farm’s current site, but an older third-party directory instead cites 11am-5pm – an unresolved conflict worth settling with a phone call before you drive out, especially since the number on file carries a Florida area code, which is unusual for a Big Island business and couldn’t be independently verified as current.
The farm offers real variety in how you get your tree: cut it yourself with a saw provided on-site, have staff cut it for you, buy one already cut, or take home a potted, living tree you can replant after the holidays. That last option is worth knowing about if you’d rather not deal with tree disposal in January. The farm also treats its trees for fire ants specifically, without using broader pesticides, and describes itself as pet-friendly – both real, useful details for anyone bringing along a dog or worried about bug bites in a Big Island field.
The “Select-a-Size Tree” runs $72 to $144 on the farm’s own site. A $20 “Forest Family Ticket” gets you in the door, and that $20 is credited toward a tree purchase – meaning if you buy a tree, your net cost for the cheapest option is $72, not $92, since the admission counts as a down payment rather than a separate fee. The only way you’re actually out $20 is if you visit and leave without buying. The farm’s own site also offers online reservation specifically framed as a way to “save the drive,” which is a reasonable signal that inventory can run tight enough to make an unplanned visit risky. Gift cards in $25 to $100 amounts are also available if you’re shopping for someone else.
Hamakua Christmas Tree Forest is a legitimate, sizable cypress grove with real flexibility in how you buy a tree and a smart reservation system for avoiding a wasted trip, but the season dates on its own site are undated by year and its hours conflict with an older third-party source, so a confirming phone call is worth the few minutes before you commit to the drive.
The farm's site lists a season running daily from Nov 15 to Dec 24, with early tree-tagging days on Nov 1 and Nov 8 and by-appointment weekday visits before Thanksgiving -- but those dates appear without a year on the farm's own page, so they've been assumed here to describe the 2026 season rather than confirmed against a year-stamped source. If accurate, the early-tagging days are a genuine way to claim a tree before the general season opens.
Not stated directly, but with a saw provided on-site and staff-cut, precut, and potted options all available, a visit can be as quick or as involved as you want it to be.
Not stated in the record. The farm's own site offers online reservation specifically to 'save the drive,' which suggests it expects enough demand, or enough risk of running low on inventory, that arriving without a plan carries some risk of a wasted trip.
Not described in the record.
Not addressed in the source, beyond the farm describing itself as pet-friendly.
Skip Hamakua Christmas Tree Forest if you need a confirmed traditional fir or spruce, since the farm grows Portuguese and Arizona cypress instead, and skip a same-day drive-up visit if you can't reach the farm by phone first, since its own hours (10am-4pm) conflict with an older third-party listing (11am-5pm) that hasn't been reconciled.
No specific nearby-farm comparison is available in this record.
Portuguese and Arizona cypress, not a traditional fir or spruce -- the record notes Hawaii's climate can't support those species.
No. The record confirms staff-cut, cut-your-own (with a saw provided), precut, and potted/living tree options are all available.
The farm's 'Select-a-Size Tree' runs $72 to $144, per its own website. A $20 admission ticket is credited toward that price if you buy.
The farm's site lists a daily season from Nov 15 to Dec 24, 10am-4pm, but gives these dates without a year, so treat 2026 as an assumption rather than a confirmed fact. An older third-party listing instead cites 11am-5pm hours, so call ahead to confirm.
November 15 – December 24, 2026. Open daily Nov 15 - Dec 24; early tree-tagging days Nov 1 and Nov 8; weekdays before Thanksgiving by appointment. Hours: 10am-4pm daily (per farm's own website); an older third-party directory listing instead cites 11am-5pm, so hours should be confirmed by phone.
Trees start at $72. 'Select-a-Size Tree' $72-$144 per farm's own website; $20 'Forest Family Ticket' admission is credited toward a tree purchase; gift cards $25-$100.
Yes. It's cut-your-own and choose-and-cut (staff cuts it for you), and a saw is provided.
32-122 Piha Kahuku Rd, Ninole, HI 96773, in Hawaii County. It is one of 2 farms we track in Big Island HI.
There is 1 other farm we track in Hawaii County. All Big Island HI farms →
hamakuachristmastreeforest.com · pickyourownchristmastree.org
Checked September 2026.