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Capitol Christmas Tree tour events begin » Land Line Media

October 28, 2025 2 min read

The Capitol Christmas Tree tradition of harvesting a tree to be transported to the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol building dates back to 1970.

Since that time, trees from 50 national forests across 25 states have been selected from recommendations made by the U.S. Forest Service.

This year is a first as a tree from a Nevada National Forest was selected.

“Selecting a tree to adorn the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol is a great honor,” Jim Kaufmann, executive director of Capitol Grounds and Arboretum at the Architect of the Capitol, said. “We selected a magnificent red fir to represent the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest and Nevada at the U.S. Capitol during the 2025 holiday season.”

The 53-foot red fir, named “Silver Belle,” harvested from Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest will begin the journey to Washington D.C. on Saturday, Nov. 1.

Michael Porter, a driver for Swift Transportation’s Phoenix terminal, will drive the custom-wrapped T680 provided by Kenworth.

The public can track the 3,000-mile trip from Nevada to the nation’s capital through an interactive map on the Capitol Christmas Tree website. Kenworth’s connected truck technology will provide real-time GPS location information for the second year.

In addition to the tree haul, Southwest Airlines will transport thousands of ornaments handmade by Nevada residents.

84 Lumber is the presenting sponsor for this year’s Capital Christmas Tree.

“84 Lumber is proud to help bring ‘The People’s Tree’ to Washington, D.C.,” said Amy Smiley, vice president of marketing at 84 Lumber. “This time-honored tradition celebrates the beauty of our nation’s forests and the communities they represent. We’re proud to support something that unites people across the country in celebration and stewardship.”