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United States United States notable tree

National Christmas Tree

NPS/ Liz Macro · Public domain

15% trees around it and 1,891 species recorded.

41Forestyas Score

Notable treeFungiBirds

  • trees within 3 km15%
  • wild within 10 km60%
  • species recorded1,891

The forest around

15% trees.

Read like the rings of a cut trunk: from the centre out, the land within 1, 3, 6 and 10 km, coloured by what covers it.

Trees 14%Grassland 16%Water 5%Bare ground 0%Built-up 64%Trees 15%Grassland 9%Water 15%Bare ground 0%Built-up 60%Trees 32%Grassland 10%Water 8%Bare ground 0%Built-up 49%Trees 56%Grassland 7%Wetland 0%Water 4%Built-up 33%15%trees · 3 km

Trees, ring by ring

  • 0–1 km14%
  • 1–3 km15%
  • 3–6 km32%
  • 6–10 km56%

What covers the land (1–3 km)

  • Trees15%
  • Grassland9%
  • Wetland0%
  • Water15%
  • Bare ground0%
  • Built-up60%

ESA WorldCover 2021 (10 m, from Sentinel satellites), sampled every 120 m. A clearing, a road or a lake counts as what it is.

Who lives here

1,891 species recorded.

The plants, fungi, birds and mammals people have recorded here most often.

Wavyleaf aster
Wavyleaf asterSymphyotrichum undulatum47 recordsMatt Schultz · CC0
Fall Panic Grass
Fall Panic GrassPanicum dichotomiflorum36 recordsShow ryu . · CC BY-SA 3.0
White Clover
White CloverTrifolium repens33 recordsEpgrande · CC BY 4.0
Black willow
Black willowSalix nigra29 recordsBruce Marlin · CC BY-SA 2.5
Pigeon Berry
Pigeon BerryPhytolacca americana25 recordsEpgrande · CC BY 4.0
Large field Speedwell
Large field SpeedwellVeronica persica25 recordsStrobilomyces · CC BY-SA 3.0
Marsh Yellow-cress
Marsh Yellow-cressRorippa palustris24 recordsMe · Public domain
Persian Walnut
Persian WalnutJuglans regia24 recordssurrealpenguin · CC BY-SA 2.0
Eastern redbud
Eastern redbudCercis canadensis24 recordsGreg Hume · CC BY-SA 3.0
Calico aster
Calico asterSymphyotrichum lateriflorum23 recordsCathie Bird · CC BY-SA 2.0
Annual Meadow Grass
Annual Meadow GrassPoa annua22 recordsKristian Peters -- Fabelfroh 10:06, 7 May 2007 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0
American basswood
American basswoodTilia americana22 recordsWendy Cutler from Vancouver, Canada · CC BY 2.0

Open records within 2 km (GBIF, licensed for any use). Busy places are better recorded than remote ones.

In numbers

The forest, measured.

41out of 100

Our own rating, from open data only: tree cover (40 points), wildness (20), species recorded (30) and protection or heritage (10).

  • 15%Treesof the land within 3 km
  • 60%Wildno towns or farmland within 10 km
  • 1,891Speciesrecorded more than once within 2 km

When to walk

Best for walking in April and in October.

How good each month is for a walk: mild days and little rain make the bar taller.

  1. Jan4°-4°67 mm
  2. Feb6°-3°70 mm
  3. Mar11°1°84 mm
  4. Apr18°7°92 mm
  5. May23°12°109 mm
  6. Jun28°18°118 mm
  7. Jul31°21°116 mm
  8. Aug30°20°109 mm
  9. Sep26°16°107 mm
  10. Oct20°9°105 mm
  11. Nov13°3°80 mm
  12. Dec7°-1°95 mm
  • Bar: walking comfort; the number on top is the average maximum.
  • Below: average minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

National Christmas Tree.

Christmas tree in Washington, DC, United States

National Christmas Tree is a notable tree in United States.

Seen from space, 15% of the land within 3 km is trees, and 60% of the land within 10 km has no towns or farmland.

1,891 species have been recorded around it: 1,000 plants, 621 fungi, 264 birds and 6 mammals.

The most recorded plants are: Wavyleaf aster, Fall Panic Grass and White Clover.

The best time to walk is in April and in October.

2020 National Christmas Tree Lighting (2274716e-44a5-4680-9b53-854791d496b2)
NPS/ Liz Macro · Public domain

Get there and walk

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Car hire at DCA airport (Washington)Discover CarsSee prices 

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The forest and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the trails, notable trees, picnic sites and huts that OpenStreetMap shows.

National Christmas Tree seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 14marked trails within 5 kmPotomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (right bank), ADT - Maryland - Seg 3, ADT - Maryland - Seg 4 and 11 more
  • 91named and notable trees within 6 kmStump, 009, 325th Glider Regiment and 88 more
  • 191picnic sites within 4 kmJulia Ward Howe Memorial and 190 more
  • 238shelters and huts within 6 km
  • 22viewpoints within 5 kmFreedom Park Viewpoint, Elephant Overlook, Panda Overlook and 19 more
  • 27visitor centres within 6 kmWhite House Visitor Center, District of Columbia Visitor Information Center, Word Bank Visitor Center and 24 more
  • 1,245car parks within 3 km
  • 264places to stay within 10 kmWillard InterContinental Hotel, JW Marriott, Sofitel Lafayette Square and 261 more
  • 917restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • campsites within 10 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around National Christmas Tree.

The mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and canyons around this forest, the viewpoints above it, the birds and the night sky, in the family's atlases.

Peakyas26 mountains within 25 km
Mount Alto4.6 kmMount Saint Alban116 m · 5.0 kmPoint Reno125 m · 7.2 kmBald Eagle Hill8.4 kmUpton's Hill9.8 kmMinor's Hill10 kmTinner Hill12 kmMason's Hill13 km
Darkskyas4 dark-sky places within 30 km
Old Naval ObservatoryBortle 9 · 1.4 kmGeorgetown University Astronomical ObservatoryBortle 9 · 3.8 kmUnited States Naval ObservatoryBortle 9 · 4.0 kmUniversity of Maryland ObservatoryBortle 9 · 14 km
Viewyas1 viewpoints within 15 kmComing soon
Capital Wheel12 km
Canyonyas1 canyons within 20 km
Mather Gorge17 km
Riveryasthe river nearby
Rappahannock River296 km · 47 m³/sPatuxent River185 kmRock CreekCameron Run

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Photographs

The forest, as people saw it.

US National Christmas Tree - looking W - 2012
Tim Evanson · CC BY-SA 2.0
16.NationalChristmasTree.Ellipse.WDC.19December2013 (11526463474)
Elvert Barnes · CC BY-SA 2.0
20.NationalChristmasTree.Ellipse.WDC.19December2013 (11526655676)
Elvert Barnes · CC BY-SA 2.0

Other forests nearby.

National Christmas Tree

United States

  • 41Forestyas Score
  • 15%Trees
  • 60%Wild
  • 1,891Species

United States Botanic Garden

United States · 2 km

  • 40Forestyas Score
  • 9%Trees
  • 58%Wild
  • 1,293Species

See the guide

Pine Barrens

United States · 218 km

  • 83Forestyas Score
  • 91%Trees
  • 94%Wild
  • 390Species

See the guide

Monongahela National Forest

United States · 251 km

  • 84Forestyas Score
  • 100%Trees
  • 100%Wild
  • 115Species

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q1523633) · CC0
Land coverESA WorldCover 10 m 2021 v200 · © ESA WorldCover project / Copernicus Sentinel data · CC BY 4.0
Species202,810 open records within 2 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only)
See these recordsgbif.org
Names and photosWikidata (CC0); GBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesPeakyas, Darkskyas, Viewyas, Canyonyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.

beachesCoastyaFind your beach: sea temperature, sun and swimming month by month.Visit lakesLakeyasEvery lake on Earth: water temperature, ice, depth and the shore.Visit mountainsPeakyasEvery summit in 3D: summit weather, the 0 °C line, huts and trails.Visit waterfallsCascadyasEvery waterfall: height, flow month by month and when it roars.Visit islandsIslandyasEvery island from the sea up: size, sea temperature, ferries and 3D.Visit riversRiveryasEvery river from source to sea: the journey, the flow and the basin in numbers.Visit canyonsCanyonyasEvery canyon cut to scale: depth to the floor, rim and floor temperatures, trails and viewpoints.Visit cavesCavernyasEvery cave with its real depth and length: the rock above, the temperature inside all year, and how to visit.Visit dark skiesDarkskyasWhere the night is still dark: the sky of every place, the Milky Way month by month, the Moon, eclipses and auroras.Visit
viewpointsViewyasEvery viewpoint with its real 360° panorama: the peaks you can name, how far you see and where the sun sets.Coming soonVisit
birdwatchingBirdyasEvery bird sanctuary and wetland with the species recorded month by month: who is resident, who comes for the summer, who only passes through.Visit
forestsForestyasEvery forest with its land-cover rings, what grows and lives in it, and the best months to walk it.You are here