Riverside Christmas Tree Farm

Our take

Riverside is one of the more clearly documented cut-your-own operations in this batch of Rhode Island farms, which makes it easier than most to plan a specific trip around. The farm’s own site, checked in August 2026, states outright that the 2026 season runs November 19 through December 20 – a genuine five-week window with real endpoints, not a placeholder or a leftover date from last year. That alone puts it ahead of several nearby farms whose sites still only reference the prior season.

What “cut your own” actually means here

This isn’t a choose-and-cut lot where staff do the cutting, and it isn’t a pre-cut lot where trees are already down and netted. Riverside is a true walk-the-field operation: you pick a living tree in the growing area and cut it yourself. The catch, and it’s a real one, is that the farm does not supply saws. If you don’t already own a non-powered handsaw, you need to source one before you go – borrowing, buying, or renting one somewhere else in the area, since the record gives no indication Riverside sells or rents them on site. Skipping this step means showing up to a field full of trees you can’t actually take home.

The weekday catch

The days-open pattern here is worth reading closely before you plan a visit. Weekend hours are straightforward: Thursday and Friday from noon to 4pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm, all open walk-in. But Monday through Wednesday are appointment-only. That’s not the same as “closed” – the farm is apparently still cutting trees those days – but it means a spontaneous Tuesday-afternoon drive out could end with nobody there to help you, or a locked gate, unless you’ve called ahead. If your schedule only allows a weekday visit, treat the phone call as a mandatory first step, not an optional courtesy.

The actual cost math

Pricing here is flat-rate by height band rather than the per-foot pricing some other farms use: $65 for anything up to 7 feet, $80 for anything taller, plus Rhode Island sales tax, with baling included at no extra charge. That structure has a genuinely useful implication for a budget-conscious visitor – a 6-foot tree and a 7-foot tree cost exactly the same $65, so if you’re choosing between two trees in that range, there’s no financial reason to take the shorter one. The jump to $80 only matters once you cross the 7-foot line. Free baling is also worth noting explicitly, since some farms charge separately for that step; here it’s already folded into the price you’re quoted.

What’s on offer beyond the tree

The activity list is modest but real: hot cocoa, wreaths, garland, cemetery baskets, porch pots, and photo opportunities. This reads as a farm built around the core cutting experience rather than a full agritourism destination with hayrides or a Santa visit – fine if that’s what you want, worth knowing if you were expecting more built-out entertainment for kids.

One unverified note worth flagging: some local guides describe Riverside as operating since 1905, but that claim comes only from third-party sources, not the farm’s own site, so treat it as plausible local lore rather than a confirmed fact.

The honest bottom line

If you own a saw, can make it on a Thursday through Sunday (or you’ve called ahead for a weekday slot), and want a genuine field-cutting experience with predictable flat pricing, Riverside delivers exactly what it advertises with unusually solid 2026 date confirmation for this batch of farms.