The short answer
Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest — Santa’s Farm, on Huff Road in Eustis, about 45 minutes north-west of Orlando — opens for Christmas on Friday 20 November. You cut a Florida-grown sand pine, red cedar or Arizona cypress at one price for any tree, and every visitor needs an entry ticket on top: $10 online or $13 at the gate on weekends and peak days. Thanksgiving weekend is the one the farm expects to sell out, and four December afternoons are free after 4pm. Everything here is from the farm’s own pages, read on 9 Nov 2026; its full listing is on the Orlando page.
Every day the farm has posted, 2026
From the farm’s hours page. It has posted days up to 5 December so far and says more hours are coming; season passes run to 20 December. Days missing from the list — Monday 23, Tuesday 24, Thanksgiving Day and Monday 30 November — have no hours posted. Entry stops an hour before closing.
| Day | Hours | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 20 Nov | 3pm–6pm | Opening event, reservations only — “Santa’s First Look Friday” |
| Sat 21 Nov | 10am–5pm | Military free (service member, with ID) |
| Sun 22 Nov | 10am–5pm | Military free (service member, with ID) |
| Wed 25 Nov | 10am–4pm | Teachers and one guest free, with ID or a paystub |
| Fri 27 Nov | 10am–7pm | Thanksgiving weekend: the farm expects it to sell out |
| Sat 28 Nov | 10am–7pm | Thanksgiving weekend: the farm expects it to sell out |
| Sun 29 Nov | 10am–7pm | Thanksgiving weekend: the farm expects it to sell out |
| Tue 1 Dec | 2pm–6pm | Seniors 60+ and first responders free, with ID |
| Wed 2 Dec | 2pm–6pm | Seniors 60+ and first responders free, with ID |
| Thu 3 Dec | 10am–6pm | Half price 2–4pm at the gate, then free for everyone after 4pm; seniors and first responders free all day |
| Fri 4 Dec | 10am–6pm | Half price 2–4pm at the gate, then free for everyone after 4pm; seniors and first responders free all day |
| Sat 5 Dec | 10am–7pm |
Tickets: what entry costs
Everyone needs a ticket, whether or not you buy a tree. The farm sells timed entries through its ticket page and asks people not to turn up on popular days without one; most other days take walk-ins, but online is cheaper. 2026 prices, from the admission page.
| When | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Christmas weekends and peak days | $10 online | $13 at the gate |
| December weekdays | $4–$13 | the farm doesn’t say which is online and which at the gate |
| Santa’s First Look Friday, 20 Nov | $12 online | $15 at the gate; limited places |
| Children 2 and under | Free | |
| Groups of 20 or more | $1 off | Christmas tickets, bought online together; email the farm for a code |
Season-pass sales for 2026 closed on 1 November. Parking is free.
Free and cheaper days
- Sat 21 & Sun 22 Nov — Military, active or retired, enter free with ID — the service member only
- Wed 25 Nov — Teachers and one guest enter free, with ID or a paystub
- 1–4, 10, 11 & 14 Dec — Seniors 60+ and first responders free, with ID
- 3, 4, 10 & 11 Dec — Half-price entry from 2pm to 4pm, at the gate only; then free for everyone after 4pm, no ticket needed
- Any day — Military: 10% off one Christmas tree with military ID, at checkout
The calendar stops at 5 December for now, so the farm hasn’t yet posted its hours for 10, 11 and 14 December. Check them before you plan around those days.
The trees, and what they cost
- Cut your own: sand pine, red cedar and Arizona cypress, grown on the farm’s 17 acres. The farm says the northern firs can’t be grown in Florida. Sand pines grow up to 2 ft a year, and some in the field are over 18 ft.
- One price for any tree. The tree page says “All trees $45!”, with no year beside it; the FAQ says any tree in the field has a $50 minimum. Expect $45 to $50, and ask at the gate.
- Tall trees that need staff to cut, bring down or carry carry a minimum $40 handling charge and a booked pickup time.
- Saws: a bow saw is provided, or bring your own handsaw (the farm says its saws dull quickly in season). No battery or motorised saws. Once a tree is cut, the person who cut it has to buy it.
- Free: shaking, netting, drilling for a spike stand (the stands are sold separately) and twine. Staff tie the tree on when they can, though the farm warns there are often queues.
- Pre-cut northern trees: Fraser fir from North Carolina; blue spruce, Douglas fir, Scotch pine and Black Hills spruce from Michigan. The only prices posted are last season’s: a 7–8 ft Fraser from $90, a Black Hills spruce around $80.
- Wreaths: about $20 for a small plain one, $25 to $60 decorated (no year given). No potted live trees this year; the farm has Christmas cactus instead.
What else is there
The admission page lists a hayride, a petting zoo (Jack’s Barnyard: goats, chicks and a donkey), a giant bounce pillow and Jolly Acres — a maze, a giant slide, trike tracks, a shark-tooth sand dig, a sand mountain, a duck race and a barrel train — and the home page adds a 100 ft kiddie zip line. The farm’s attractions pages wouldn’t load when we checked, so we can’t say which of these cost extra. Santa’s visiting times aren’t posted.
Food and drink (concessions page): smash burgers, homemade sausages, hot dogs (vegetarian too), Beyond Burgers, kettle corn, s’mores kits and ice cream at the stand; beer, wine, mimosas, seltzers and sparkling cider drinks at the bar, the Thirsty Elf. Food is limited on weekdays and quiet days. No outside food or drink; there is a picnic area outside the gates.
Before you go
- Dogs: well-behaved dogs on a leash are welcome, but not in the horse ride or petting zoo areas. Clean up after them. More farms that take dogs are on the dog-friendly page.
- Paying: cards and cash everywhere on the farm; no personal cheques.
- The ground: a working farm with no paved paths, gopher tortoise holes and irrigation pipe in the field. Wear closed shoes and bring bug spray and water; nothing is air-conditioned. Strollers, wagons and wheelchairs do get round, and disabled parking is across from the gate.
- Toilets: flush toilets and a changing area just past the Thirsty Elf bar; portable toilets beyond the petting zoo.
- A promise worth knowing: under the farm’s autism pledge, a family can have its entry refunded in full if it goes back to the front gate within the first hour.
Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest: questions
How much is Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest?
Entry is $10 online or $13 at the gate on Christmas weekends and peak days, and $4 to $13 on December weekdays; children 2 and under are free. The tree is on top: the farm’s tree page says all its cut-your-own trees are $45, while its FAQ says any tree in the field has a $50 minimum. Parking is free.
When does Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest open for Christmas 2026?
Friday 20 November, with an opening event from 3pm to 6pm that is by reservation only. From Saturday 21 November it opens on most days; the farm has posted its hours up to Saturday 5 December so far, and season passes run to 20 December. It is not open every day, so check the calendar before you go.
Is there a free day at Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest?
Yes: entry is free for everyone after 4pm on 3, 4, 10 and 11 December, with no ticket needed. Military service members get in free on 21 and 22 November, teachers and a guest on 25 November, and seniors 60 and over and first responders on 1 to 4, 10, 11 and 14 December, all with ID.
Can I bring my dog to Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest?
Yes. The farm says well-behaved dogs on a leash are welcome, but not in the horse ride or petting zoo areas, and you clean up after them.
What Christmas trees can you cut at Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest?
Sand pine, red cedar and Arizona cypress, all grown on the farm’s 17 acres. The farm says the northern firs can’t be grown in Florida, so it also sells pre-cut Fraser fir from North Carolina and blue spruce, Douglas fir, Scotch pine and Black Hills spruce from Michigan.
Do you need a ticket to buy a tree at Santa’s Christmas Tree Forest?
Yes. The farm says admission tickets are required for every visitor, tree or no tree, and it sells timed entries in advance. On popular days it asks you not to come without one.
How this is checked
Read on the farm’s own website on 9 Nov 2026: the home page and its hours, admission, tree, FAQ, events and food pages. Where two of the farm’s pages disagree — the tree price — this page gives both. The farm is at 35317 Huff Road, Eustis, FL 32736, phone 352-357-9863.
Also on pickinghours
- Santa’s Christmas Tree Forestyou are here
- Near Orlandoevery farm, with dates
- FloridaTampa to Tallahassee
- Dog-friendly farmsby state
- What a tree costsand the one-price farms
- The southern treespine, cedar and cypress