The Issaquah Christmas Tree That Spends Most of December on the Porch

When does the Christmas tree come inside? Most households answer that the weekend after Thanksgiving. For anyone adopting a living tree through Lake Sammamish State Park this year, the answer is closer to Christmas Eve, and the tree has to be ordered weeks ahead of that.

The program is called Holiday Trees for Habitats. It's run by the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust with Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park. You reserve a live tree in a pot, keep it through the holidays, and then bring it back to the park. It gets planted along a salmon-bearing stream there in the spring. The City of Issaquah mentioned it in the September 30 episode of its Issaquah Buzz business podcast, next to Salmon Days.

You'll have the tree for five to six weeks, from a December 5 pickup to a January return. The care instructions recommend only 7 to 10 days of that indoors. So every step of the season, from ordering to returning it, is planned around the tree's time outside.

The Order Window Closes November 23, Possibly Sooner

Reservations opened October 1 and run through November 23 while supplies last. The organizers expect trees to run out before the deadline and suggest ordering early. Ordering is online only, through the preorder form. The program page says it doesn't plan to take in-person orders at the Holiday Market, which is for picking up preorders.

From the first week of November, that leaves under three weeks before the posted cutoff. The supply may not last that long.

The tree will be a Grand Fir, a Douglas Fir or a Sitka Spruce. You can't choose the species when you order. Trees are handed out first come, first served on pickup day. The organizers say to arrive early if you want a particular kind, but they can't guarantee it.

Size Is About Lifting as Much as Looks

The program offers two sizes. The prices are suggested minimum donations to Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park and the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, not rental fees.

Weight matters more than usual here because the tree will be moved several times. Volunteers can carry it to your car, but for liability reasons you have to load it yourself, so bring a helper if you need one. Trees come in plastic pots with soil. They shouldn't ride on the roof, but they can lie on their side inside the car. The organizers suggest wrapping the tree in a tarp or old sheet to hold in soil and loose needles.

The organizers describe the donation as tax-deductible. This post is general information rather than tax advice, so check your own situation with a tax professional.

December 5 Is Pickup Day and Market Day

Pickup is during the Lake Sammamish Holiday Market on Saturday, December 5, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The market and the pickup are in two different spots. The market is at the Meadow Shelter, and trees are handed out in the Tibbetts Beach parking area. A small lot sits next to the Meadow Shelter, with more parking a short walk away inside the park. You need a Discover Pass to enter.

Pick up the tree first, load it, and then walk over to the market.

The market is free and open to everyone, tree or no tree. The organizers expect local makers and artisans, handmade gifts, seasonal treats, a fresh wreath-making workshop and community groups with ways to help local conservation. The vendor list will be posted on the program page closer to December 5.

If Saturday doesn't work, there's a second pickup on Sunday, December 6, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Greenway Trust Native Plant Nursery inside the park. If neither day works, you can email [email protected] to set up another time. Trees that never get picked up are kept for future planting. There are no refunds, and the payment counts as a donation to the restoration work.

Seven to Ten Days Inside Changes How December Goes

According to the Greenway Trust's care instructions, a potted fir or spruce stays in winter dormancy while it's cold. If it sits indoors or somewhere warm for too long, it can break dormancy and start growing, and then the cold damages it once it goes back outside. That's why the indoor limit is about 7 to 10 days.

Here's how that plays out. A tree brought in on December 18 should be back outside by about December 28. Picked up December 5 and returned January 9, it spends roughly 25 days on a porch, deck or in a cold garage, and ten at most in the house.

The Trust's guidance follows from that limit:

• Keep it outside until you're ready to decorate. A porch, deck or cold garage works.
• Consider a rolling cart or dolly so the pot can go back outside overnight during the season.
• Water thoroughly before it comes in, until water drains out the bottom. Then check the soil every other day, and water lightly when it feels dry about an inch down.
• Keep the room cool and keep the tree away from heating vents and fireplaces. Use only LED lights, since incandescent strings give off too much heat.
• Ease it back out. Don't take it from a warm house straight into freezing weather. Put it somewhere sheltered for several days first.

The Trust also suggests a gravel layer in the saucer, topped up with water daily, so the pot can draw moisture from below.

Because of the short window, the Trust offers two other ideas. One is to start a tradition of bringing the tree in and decorating it on Christmas Eve or another day that matters to you. The other is to leave it outside all season and decorate it with things birds can use, like strung cranberries, suet seed balls and pine cones dipped in suet and seeds.

January 9 or 16, Then a Salmon Stream in the Spring

Returns go to the Greenway Trust's native plant nursery at Lake Sammamish State Park on Saturday, January 9, or Saturday, January 16, 2027, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days. The Trust looks after the trees until spring, when they go into a habitat restoration project. Adopters get an invitation to help plant the tree they took home. No date for that planting day has been posted yet. The care page also says you can plant the tree yourself after the holidays if you'd rather keep it.

Earlier tree plantings give a sense of where returned trees end up. The Trust's 2025 Tree Planting Celebration had volunteers plant nearly 1,500 trees to improve the habitat along Issaquah Creek, in support of in-stream restoration work done that summer. This year's donations go to salmon habitat restoration inside Lake Sammamish State Park, with the returned trees planted along a salmon-bearing stream there. If you don't want to wait for the spring invitation, both groups hold restoration and tree-planting events through the year on the Greenway Trust events page and the Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park calendar.

The Season on One Calendar

1. Now through November 23: Reserve online. Trees may run out before the deadline.
2. Saturday, December 5, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Pickup at the Tibbetts Beach parking area, with the Holiday Market at the Meadow Shelter. Bring a Discover Pass and, if needed, a helper.
3. Sunday, December 6, noon to 3 p.m.: Alternate pickup at the Greenway Trust Native Plant Nursery.
4. Early to mid-December: Keep the tree outside or in a cold garage, watered.
5. The week of the holiday: Bring it inside for 7 to 10 days at most, with LED lights only.
6. Late December: Put it somewhere sheltered for several days before it goes fully outdoors.
7. Saturday, January 9, or Saturday, January 16, 2027, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Return it to the nursery at Lake Sammamish State Park.
8. Spring 2027: Watch for the invitation to plant it.

I've spent more than thirty years around Issaquah, and the local traditions that last tend to tie a household's routine to a place like Lake Sammamish State Park. If you're planning this season and want to talk through anything about your Issaquah home, from timing a move to what your property is worth, Tom Covello is glad to help. Get your free home valuation and consultation whenever it suits you.