Issaquah's Holiday Tree Doesn't Have to End at the Curb. This One Ends Up Beside a Salmon Stream.

"Instead of cutting down a tree that's used for a few short weeks, adopt a living Christmas tree that will continue growing long after the holidays are over." That is the pitch on the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust's holiday market page. The program behind it, Holiday Trees for Habitats, is run by the Trust with Friends of Lake Sammamish State Park. When the season is over, the tree goes back to Lake Sammamish State Park. In spring it is planted along a salmon-bearing stream inside the park.

So this holiday season in Issaquah lasts longer than December. It starts with an order deadline on Monday, November 23, and ends with a planting in spring. The tree also comes with its own rules: a pickup date, a limit on how long it can stay indoors, and a January return. Plan the rest of the calendar around those dates and the theater nights, the tree lighting and the reindeer fit in easily.

The tree's calendar, with everything else around it

The order deadline lands in the season's opening week

You can reserve a tree on the Greenway Trust's preorder form through November 23, while supplies last. There are two sizes. A 2-foot tree is a $100 minimum donation and a 4-foot tree is a $200 minimum. Every dollar supports habitat restoration in the Issaquah area. The organizers call the donation tax-deductible. That is their description, and how it applies to your return is a question for your own tax professional. The City of Issaquah also promoted the program in its September 30 Issaquah Buzz business update.

The deadline comes four days after Issaquah's holiday season officially opens. The City's Holiday Tree Lighting is Thursday, November 19, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Village Green Park, and the tree is lit at 5:30. On Sunday, November 22, the Village Market Holiday Pop-Up fills Blakely Hall with local artisans and vendors from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Preorders close the next day.

Village Theatre's Come From Away also plays that week. The Issaquah run opens November 10 and, according to the theater's current Issaquah performance page, runs through December 27. There is a 7:30 p.m. show on the night of the tree lighting. The Sunday of the pop-up has shows at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Ticket prices include a $3 service charge online and $5 by phone or in person. The night before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, November 25, has both a matinee and an evening show.

Pickup weekend falls in the busiest stretch of December

The main tree pickup is part of the Lake Sammamish Holiday Market on Saturday, December 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The market is at the park's Meadow Shelter, and trees are handed out in the Tibbetts Beach parking area. The market is free and open to everyone, whether or not you adopted a tree. Expect local makers, handmade gifts, seasonal treats, a fresh wreath-making workshop, and conservation groups explaining how to get involved. If Saturday doesn't work, there's a second pickup Sunday, December 6, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Greenway Trust Native Plant Nursery, which is also inside the park.

What to know before you drive over:

• You need a Discover Pass to enter the park. There's a small lot next to the Meadow Shelter and more parking a short walk away.
• The trees come in plastic pots full of soil. They can't ride on the roof of your car, but they can lie on their side inside it. A tarp or old sheet keeps the dirt and needles contained.
• A 4-foot tree weighs about 15 to 20 pounds and a 2-foot tree about 10.

The rest of that week is busy too. On Thursday, December 3, the Downtown Issaquah Association hosts Caroling at the Depot from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Issaquah Depot Museum, 78 1st Ave. NE. Everyone is invited to sing along, and hot chocolate and candy canes are provided. On Friday, December 4, Village Theatre KIDSTAGE opens Footloose: The Musical at Hunt Family Theatre, running through December 20.

Cougar Mountain Zoo's Reindeer Festival will be in its second week by then. It runs November 27 through December 23 and again December 26 through 30. Hours are 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or dusk during the first stretch and 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. after Christmas. Santa is there November 27 through December 23 from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and photos with him take an extra minimum donation. The zoo's ticket page still lists a November 28 start, so check your date when you book.

Children under 3 get in free, and checkout adds a 3% service fee. The zoo is at 19525 SE 54th Street.

Seven to ten days indoors

This is the rule that shapes the rest of December. The Greenway Trust says a living tree does best outdoors and recommends keeping it inside for only 7 to 10 days. It arrives potted and ready to decorate, and the Trust's care instructions include ideas for decorating it outside.

If you pick up on December 5, you'll have the tree for about three weeks before Christmas but should only have it inside for a week or so. Count backward from the day you want it at its best. Ten days before December 25 means bringing it in around December 15. Until then it can sit decorated on a porch or patio.

Several events fall inside that indoor window. Yuletide on Front is listed for Monday, December 21, from 1:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Front Street in historic downtown, though the Downtown Issaquah Association still lists the 2026 program as TBD. Come From Away plays through December 27, and the Reindeer Festival reopens December 26.

Boehm's Candies is part of the countdown too. Its 2026 public tours ran June 11 through September 18 and are over for the year, though private tours may be possible depending on staff availability. Its seasonal shelf currently lists Advent Calendars at $12.50 and the Boehm's Signature Advent Calendar at $49.95.

If you want a meal between errands, the Seattle Times suggested two in August. Nom House Vietnamese Kitchen opened its second location in July at 1568 Highlands Drive N.E., Suite 120. It's a counter-serve, build-your-own spot, and its iced coffee with salted foam is only sold at the Issaquah location. The Well & Table, open in Gilman Village since 2021, serves brunch, lunch and dinner at 317 N.W. Gilman Blvd., Suite 43, and nearly every dish has a gluten-free version.

January is when the tradition actually finishes

After the holidays, you bring the tree back to Lake Sammamish State Park on Saturday, January 9, or Saturday, January 16, 2027, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. The organizers look after it through the winter. In spring it becomes part of a habitat restoration project, and you're invited to help plant the tree you adopted.

It goes in along a salmon-bearing stream in the park. The donations fund local environmental nonprofits that look after the park and other public lands in the I-90 corridor between Seattle and Ellensburg. That links your December tree to the salmon Issaquah celebrates every fall. If you watched this year's run, our guide to the best time to watch Issaquah's salmon run covers where to see the fish in their own season. Last summer's version of this calendar is in our guide to Issaquah's summer nights.

If this year's tree has you thinking about where it might stand next December, maybe on a deck with room to decorate outside or by a window wall, The Sessoms Group knows Issaquah's homes as well as its calendar. Schedule your concierge consultation, and we'll start with how you like to spend the season.