Iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree Travels Down the Hudson Valley En Route to NYC

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree 2025 Comes From Upstate, NY

Days before Halloween, Rockefeller Center got ahead of the holiday season game. They announced their pick for the 2025 Rockefeller Center Christmas tree.

READ MORE: 20 Years of Hudson Valley Trees at Rockefeller Center

This years tree hails from East Greenbush, New York just outside of Albany from the Russ Family home. It's a Norway Spruce that stands at 75-feet tall and weighs about 11-tons.

After the initial announcement, Rockefeller Center teased that the tree would make its way down to the city at the beginning of November with an arrival date of November 8th, 2025.

The time has come for the East Greenbush tree to make its way down to the big show!

Upstate, New York Tree Makes Its Way to Rockefeller Center

News started to spread that Rockefeller Center would be cutting down the Norway Spruce as it begins its journey to the epicenter of the holiday season.

Early on Thursday, November 6th crews showed up at the Russ house in East Greenbush to carefully cut down the 75-foot-tall tree.

Take a look at the process below:

After the tree came down, it was on the move escorted by New York State Police down to New York City. Part of that journey included a brief moment passing through the Hudson Valley.

Photos were shared with us of the tree traveling through Saugerties.

Thankfully, this year there were no hiccups (unlike the trip it had in 2023 when the tree had a little mishap in Sullivan County).

When Will the Rockefeller Center Tree Be Lit?

The tree will make it down to the city and then be put up in Rockefeller Center on November 8th.

From that point on, crews will work diligently to deck the tree out in thousands of LED lights and top it with a Swarovski Crystal.

READ MORE: Upstate, NY Tree Chosen as Holiday Staple at Rockefeller Center

After the tree is prepped it will finally be ready for the kickoff of the holiday season. The tree will officially be lit on Wednesday December 3rd during the Christmas in Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting ceremony from 7 pm to 10pm.

The 3-hour event will be hosted by country superstar Reba McEntire.