PORTLAND, Ore. -- For just $5 you can buy a Christmas tree permit and then go into the Mount Hood National Forest and cut your own tree.

Those permits are now for sale.

Groves of Evergreen trees are swaying in the wind waiting for the perfect home.

The forest service’s tree cutting program has been around for years. For some it's a family tradition to go into the forest and find that perfect tree.

AP File

A family carries a Christmas tree off a farm.

“It's more of a challenge and gets you up into nature. Our family enjoys it a lot more, kind of makes it a little more special,” said Rick Walters. He had just bought his permit when we found him at the Zig Zag ranger station off highway 26.

If you plan on following in Walters’ footsteps, there are some rules you need to know about. You can't cut down a tree along major roads like highway 26.

Cutting down a tree by streams or trails is also a bad idea. And stay away from campgrounds, too.

Despite these rules, the forest service says every year countless people find their tree without a problem.

You can purchase Christmas tree permits for national forests across the Northwest.