On Friday, Nov. 6, a 76-foot Engelmann spruce from north-central Idaho will be parked by the Idaho Falls Public Library from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Its next stop is Gardiner, Montana, on Saturday, and it's out of Idaho for good after that. The lighting on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol is in early December. That makes the evening on Capital Avenue the state's send-off for its own tree. The tree on the truck also isn't the one first picked in August.
Idaho Falls Gets the Final Idaho Stop
The Forest Service tour route, released Oct. 1, starts in the Nez Perce-Clearwater country. It makes a stop in Lolo, Montana, comes back south through Idaho, and then leaves the state for good from here. Here are the Idaho dates in order:
- Thursday, Oct. 29: Grangeville
- Friday, Oct. 30: Lewiston
- Saturday, Oct. 31: Moscow
- Sunday, Nov. 1: Orofino and Kamiah
- Tuesday, Nov. 3: Lolo, Montana, the one stop outside Idaho
- Wednesday, Nov. 4: Salmon
- Thursday, Nov. 5: Craters of the Moon National Monument and Twin Falls
- Friday, Nov. 6: Idaho Falls
Rexburg, Rigby, Pocatello and Blackfoot aren't on the schedule. In Eastern Idaho, the Idaho Falls stop is the only one. After Gardiner on Nov. 7, the truck goes through Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. The tour ends Nov. 19 at Joint Base Andrews, where access is limited to people with military ID.
So for a household in Idaho Falls, Ammon or Rigby, Nov. 6 is the only chance to see the tree without a long drive.
The Grand Fir That Didn't Make It
When the tree was selected on Aug. 13, the Forest Service announced an 80-foot grand fir from the Salmon River Ranger District. Jim Kaufmann, executive director of Capitol Grounds and Arboretum at the Architect of the Capitol, said the tree "stood out for its perfect form and full shape." He picked it from more than 60 candidates that Forest Service staff had flagged, after visiting a dozen of them in person.
That tree isn't coming. A September editor's note on the Architect of the Capitol's selection blog post says the grand fir developed needlecast disease, and its needles were turning yellow. The team switched to a backup, a 76-foot Engelmann spruce from the Lochsa-Powell Ranger District. The same page included an update from the tree team:
"Things happen! Sometimes nature throws us a curveball, and that's why we always have a backup plan."
The spruce is scheduled to be cut in late October. The Forest Service says it will share harvest celebration details once plans are set. The City of Idaho Falls announcement, posted Oct. 6, already uses the spruce's details, so that's the tree heading to the library lot.
| Announced Aug. 13 | Arriving Nov. 6 | |
|---|---|---|
| Species | Grand fir | Engelmann spruce |
| Height | 80 feet | 76 feet |
| Ranger district | Salmon River | Lochsa-Powell |
| Status | Replaced after needlecast disease | Scheduled for late-October harvest |
How This Year's Tree Compares
The Architect of the Capitol publishes a list of every Capitol tree with its height as measured in the forest. It puts Idaho's 2026 spruce near the top of recent years.
| Year | Tree | Height | National forest | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Engelmann spruce | 76 feet | Nez Perce-Clearwater | Idaho |
| 2025 | Red fir | 53 feet | Humboldt-Toiyabe | Nevada |
| 2024 | Sitka spruce | 80 feet | Tongass | Alaska |
| 2023 | Norway spruce | 63 feet | Monongahela | West Virginia |
This year's tree is 23 feet taller than last year's Nevada red fir. It's also the third time Idaho has supplied the Capitol tree. The Payette National Forest sent one in 2016, and the Boise National Forest sent one in 2003. This year's theme, "over the rivers and through the woods," comes from the Salmon River and South Fork Clearwater River country where the first tree was chosen.
Friday Evening on Capital Avenue
The Idaho Falls event is called "From the Forest to the Falls." It's free and runs 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Idaho Falls Public Library parking lot and along Capital Avenue. Here's what the city has announced so far:
- The tree itself, which you can see up close
- Live music
- Winter crafts and stories
- Ornament-making tables
- Booths about Idaho's national forests and the people who care for them
- Winter treats from Idaho Falls Power
The City of Idaho Falls, Idaho Falls Power and the Idaho Falls Public Library are hosting. Their partners are the USDA Forest Service, including our local Caribou-Targhee National Forest, and the Society of American Foresters, the tour's nonprofit partner. According to the Forest Service, tour stops also let visitors take pictures with the tree and the truck, sign the banner, and buy official Capitol Christmas Tree merchandise. Idaho Forest Group is this year's presenting sponsor.
The city says more details will come as the date gets closer. As of this week, parking and any Capital Avenue closures haven't been announced. Check the city's news page before you head downtown, especially if you usually park near the library.
The Ornament Deadline Has Passed
The Architect of the Capitol's crew decorates the tree with thousands of handmade ornaments from Idaho residents before the December lighting. The official ornament page asked for 10,000 of them:
- 3,500 for the outdoor tree: brightly colored, 9 to 12 inches, decorated on both sides, and weatherproof
- 6,500 for the smaller indoor trees: brightly colored, 4 to 9 inches, decorated on both sides, and not required to be weatherproof
Submissions were due Sept. 1, 2026. People could drop them at any Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest office or mail them to the ornament team in Kamiah. When East Idaho News first reported the call in March, it gave an Aug. 1 deadline and said organizers also wanted about 50 tree skirts. Either way, the official submission deadline has passed. The city describes the Nov. 6 ornament tables as a place to make handmade ornaments for the tree's trip to Washington, D.C., but it hasn't said how those ornaments get to the decorating crew or which trees they'll go on.
If One Look Isn't Enough
If you want to see the tree twice, the stop the day before is at Craters of the Moon. It runs 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 1266 Craters Loop Road in Arco. Craters of the Moon National Monument, the Butte County School District and Trailhead Coffee and Creamer are the listed partners. The tree goes on to Twin Falls that same day and gets to Idaho Falls on Friday. After that it leaves Idaho.
The Forest Service says partners will keep finalizing event details in the weeks before the tour, and it posts updates at uscapitolchristmastree.com.
If you're out on Capital Avenue on Nov. 6, come say hi. Adam Walz loves seeing neighbors at nights like this. And if this downtown stop has you curious about which nearby streets are within walking distance of the library, schedule your free consultation and we'll go through the map together.
