The 2026 Capitol Christmas Tree Is on the Road: The 76-Foot Spruce Stops in Idaho Falls Today, Reaches Washington November 20
This year’s U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree comes from Idaho’s Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forests. The 76-foot Engelmann spruce, harvested from the Lochsa-Powell Ranger District, set out from Grangeville, Idaho, on October 29 on a journey of more than 2,000 miles. Today (November 6) it stops in Idaho Falls, where residents can view the “People’s Tree” up close and sign the commemorative banners mounted on its trailer.
Under the tour schedule published by the Capitol Christmas Tree program, the convoy continues to Sheridan, Wyoming (November 9); Custer (November 10) and Mitchell (November 12) in South Dakota; Albert Lea, Minnesota (November 12); Peoria, Illinois (November 13); Morgantown, West Virginia (November 16); and Hagerstown, Maryland, and Littlestown, Pennsylvania (November 17). It reaches Joint Base Andrews on November 19 and is delivered to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on November 20. Festivities at each stop are free and open to the public, and a lighting ceremony will follow on the West Lawn in early December.
The Capitol Christmas Tree tradition dates to 1964: each year a different national forest provides the tree that stands in the capital as a national holiday symbol. This year’s transport truck carries a wrap themed “Over the River and Through the Woods,” showing a snow-covered river winding through Idaho’s national forests, and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s road-safety campaign is traveling with the tree through 10 states.
The public can follow the convoy live on the map at the official U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree website. Every stop after Idaho Falls is one more community celebration on the tree’s way to Washington. (Source: U.S. Forest Service)
Source: U.S. Forest Service
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：矗立在国会大厦西草坪的国会圣诞树（资料图）。美国国会建筑师办公室公共领域图片，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree on the West Lawn (file photo). Architect of the Capitol, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
