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Solstice Tree Farm

📍 4210 US Highway 80, Big Sandy, TX 75755🗓 Season dates not yet published for 2026🏷 From $9

A family-run per-foot farm with genuinely useful published pricing for both cut-your-own pine and precut fir, though hours were only confirmed for the 2025 season and no 2026 calendar has surfaced yet.

Solstice Tree Farm in Big Sandy, TX

How you get your tree

This farm offers

cut-your-own

Included

hayridedrinks and snacksfire pit

Cut-your-own Virginia Pine roughly $9-10/ft; precut Fraser Fir (from the Blue Mountains) roughly $16-18/ft

Our take

Solstice Tree Farm, owned and operated by Bryan and Hannah Winchell, sits on US-80 between Big Sandy and Gladewater – a genuinely convenient location if you’re coming from either Tyler or Longview. What sets this listing apart from most others in this research is that real pricing actually exists here, which makes it possible to do honest cost comparisons instead of just flagging a gap.

The pricing, and what it actually means for your budget

Cut-your-own Virginia Pine is priced at roughly $9-10 per foot. That’s a field-grown tree the farm reports pruning and shaping for about five years before it’s ready to sell – a meaningful amount of work reflected in a straightforward per-foot number. Precut Fraser Fir, shipped in from North Carolina’s Blue Mountains, runs about $16-18 per foot instead, roughly 60-80% more per foot than the pine. Using only those real per-foot numbers: a 6-foot cut-your-own pine would run somewhere around $54-60, while a 6-foot precut fir at the higher rate would run closer to $96-108. That’s a meaningful gap for a same-height tree, and it’s driven by two different things – what the tree is (locally grown pine vs. shipped fir) and how it’s obtained (cutting it yourself vs. buying it precut). If keeping cost down matters more than getting a fir specifically, the field pine is the clearer value based on these numbers.

The hours are the part to double-check

The only schedule found for this farm is Friday and Saturday, 8am to noon – and that comes from a late-November 2025 news mention describing the farm as “already open,” not a page stating a recurring policy. That’s an important distinction: it might reflect this farm’s actual pattern year to year, or it might have been specific to how the 2025 season happened to fall. Either way, a four-hour morning window twice a week is a tight target to plan around, so a quick call before you drive out is worth the few minutes it takes, especially since no 2026 season-start date has been confirmed anywhere checked.

What the visit includes beyond the tree

The record lists a hayride, drinks and snacks, and a fire pit as part of the on-site experience – a modest but real set of extras beyond just cutting a tree. None of the sources checked describe payment method (cash vs. card), saw availability, or accessibility.

The honest bottom line

Solstice is one of the few farms in this dataset where you can actually run the numbers before you go, and the math favors cutting your own pine over buying the shipped fir if cost is a factor – but the tight, possibly outdated hours mean confirming the schedule is the one call you shouldn’t skip.

Planning your visit

Best time to go

The only hours found are Fri-Sat 8am-noon, reported as the farm's schedule in late November 2025. No 2026 season_start date is confirmed, so treat this as a starting point to verify, not a locked-in schedule.

How long to budget

Not stated in the record, but a four-hour Friday/Saturday morning window suggests the farm expects a relatively short, focused visit rather than an all-day outing.

Crowds

Not stated in the record. A four-hour morning window on only two days a week is a tight schedule, which likely means Saturday mornings see the most concentrated demand of the week here.

Parking

Not described in the record. This is a working field farm on US-80, so expect an unpaved lot rather than a paved one.

Strollers and accessibility

Not addressed in the sources reviewed.

What to bring

  • A tape measure or a clear sense of the height you want, since pricing here is genuinely per-foot and the final cost depends directly on the tree size you choose
  • A backup payment method, since cash-only status isn't confirmed either way
  • A phone call ahead to confirm current hours, since the only schedule found describes a 2025 data point, not a stated recurring rule

How to spend less here

  • Cut-your-own Virginia Pine runs roughly $9-10 per foot, per the record -- so a hypothetical 6-foot tree, just as an example using that rate, would land around $54-60, and a 7-footer around $63-70
  • Precut Fraser Fir shipped from North Carolina's Blue Mountains runs roughly $16-18 per foot, notably more than the field-grown pine -- a 6-foot precut fir at that rate would run about $96-108, versus roughly $54-60 for a same-height cut-your-own pine
  • Since the per-foot pine rate is genuinely cheaper than the per-foot fir rate, cutting your own is the clearer money-saver here if budget matters more than getting a fir specifically

Who it suits

Good for

  • Budget-conscious visitors who want to compare a real per-foot price before choosing between cut-your-own and precut
  • Anyone near Big Sandy, Gladewater, Tyler, or Longview looking for a convenient stop on US-80
  • Visitors who want a Virginia Pine that's been shaped and pruned for years rather than a fast-grown tree

Skip it if

Skip Solstice if you can't make an 8am-noon Friday or Saturday window, since no other hours were found in sources checked, or if you specifically want a Fraser Fir grown regionally rather than shipped in from North Carolina.

Worth pairing with

Located on US-80 between Big Sandy and Gladewater, convenient to both Tyler and Longview, per the record.

Common questions

How much does a tree cost at Solstice Tree Farm?

Cut-your-own Virginia Pine runs about $9-10 per foot. Precut Fraser Fir, shipped in from North Carolina's Blue Mountains, runs about $16-18 per foot -- notably more than the pine.

What are the hours?

The only hours found are Friday-Saturday 8am-noon, reported for the 2025 season. No 2026 dates have been confirmed, so call ahead.

Can I cut my own tree?

Yes, for the Virginia Pine grown on-site, which is pruned and shaped for about five years before it's sold. The Fraser Fir is precut only.

Is this the same species as the fir at other nearby farms?

No -- the field-grown tree here is Virginia Pine, a species that grows well in East Texas. The Fraser Fir is a separate, shipped-in product, not something grown locally on this farm.

When is Solstice Tree Farm open in 2026?

2026 dates had not been published when we last checked. In past seasons it has run: Fri-Sat (as of late Nov 2025). Check with the farm before driving out.

How much does a tree cost at Solstice Tree Farm?

Trees start at $9. Cut-your-own Virginia Pine roughly $9-10/ft; precut Fraser Fir (from the Blue Mountains) roughly $16-18/ft

Can I cut my own tree at Solstice Tree Farm?

Yes. It's cut-your-own.

Where is Solstice Tree Farm?

4210 US Highway 80, Big Sandy, TX 75755, in Upshur County. It is one of 11 farms we track in East Texas Piney Woods.

How Solstice Tree Farm compares in East Texas Piney Woods

We track 11 farms in East Texas Piney Woods, 8 of which let you cut your own tree. At $9 to start this one sits right on the regional median of $9.

One caveat worth repeating: this farm had not published its 2026 dates when we last checked, while 6 of the 11 farms we track in East Texas Piney Woods had. Treat any date you see elsewhere as last year's until the farm confirms it.

Other farms near Big Sandy

There are 2 other farms we track in Upshur County. All East Texas Piney Woods farms →

Quick facts

SeasonSeason dates not yet published for 2026
Days openFri-Sat (as of late Nov 2025)
HoursFri-Sat 8am-noon
Starting price$9
Tree typesVirginia Pine, Fraser Fir (precut)
CountyUpshur County
RegionEast Texas Piney Woods

Sources

solsticetreefarm.com

Checked September 2026.