I’m Chris Bainbridge and I love the Carolinas. This is an amazing place to find adventure in all shapes and sizes – even in our changing world. Ingles has sent me on a mission to bring you the very best of what our beautiful home has to offer – food, fun, nature music, and more… all affordable, and all out of the ordinary. This is The Ingles Open Road.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Today we’re kicking off our fun old fashioned family Christmas by heading out into the country in the old front-wheel drive sleigh to embrace the frosty majesty of the winter landscape and select that most important of Christmas symbols – the Christmas tree!
Whether you live in Georgia, the Carolinas, or Tennessee, there is something special about heading up into the mountains where the trees climb the hillsides like rows of marching soldiers. Today, we’re in Waynesville, North Carolina… at Boyd Mountain Christmas Tree Farm
This place has been a continuously operating farm in the Boyd family for over a hundred years. Over the years they raised cattle, tobacco, corn, potatoes… but today they grow the Cadillac of Christmas trees: the Fraser Fir.
It was named for John Fraser, a Scottish botanist who explored the region in the late 1700’s. Today over 50 million Fraser firs are grown in North Carolina on over 25,000 acres. Making this truly the Christmas tree capital of America.
And here at Boyd Mountain – like many choose and cut Christmas tree farms – your day here is about so much more than the Christmas tree itself. As they like to say here, it’s a “memory day”. A day to celebrate family, the beauty of nature, and the spirit of the Christmas season.
You see kids, this is what our forefathers did. They walked out into the woods, they picked out that special tree, and they cut it down with their bare hands. Little full… lot of sap.
Here, they’ll even cut it for you. Then they’ll get it down the mountain, bale it, and get it on your vehicle.
While you’re here there are plenty of other ways to support this local farm – which is what Ingles is all about supporting over 3,000 local farms and businesses. Here at Boyd Mountain you also purchase beautiful Christmas décor, get a cup of coco, and more.
There is something a little magical about wandering through the rows of fir trees, breathing in the crisp, pine-scented air, and feeling the bows brush against your shoulder. It’s an experience not to be missed.
So, point the family sleigh towards your local Christmas Tree Farm. If you want to visit Boyds, find them online at BoydMountainChristmasTreeFarm.com. And head up into the mountains for a day to remember. Your weekend is waiting… on the Ingles Open Road.