On Friday, November 13, two seasons begin in the Nine Mile Valley. At 6 p.m., the big tree at the 9 Mile Schoolhouse on Remount Road gets lit. That same day, the Lolo National Forest opens its Christmas tree cutting season, and the Ninemile Ranger Station sits on the same road at 20325 Remount Road.
From there to Christmas Eve, the valley's holiday calendar moves between two buildings that were both built as schools early in the last century. The 9 Mile Schoolhouse at 18815 Remount Road is a restored one-room school that now operates as an event venue with cabin stays. The Nine Mile Community Center at 25620 Nine Mile Road is built around the 1915 Stark School House and is run by a volunteer board. Each one hosts different kinds of events, and the season goes back and forth between them.
November 13 Starts the Season Twice
The 9 Mile Schoolhouse holds its Old-Fashioned Tree Lighting from 6 to 8 p.m. It's free and outdoors, with carols, and food and drinks for sale. That night the hosts also announce which nonprofit the schoolhouse will honor this holiday season. On the event page, the schoolhouse describes the evening this way:
"Before the hustle and bustle of the holidays begins, take a little time to slow down, enjoy one another's company, and prepare our hearts for a season of giving and loving others well."
That line is from the 9 Mile Schoolhouse's tree lighting page, which also says to dress warmly.
Lolo National Forest tree permits also start that Friday. The Recreation.gov permit page gives the 2026 season as November 13 through December 31. Permits go on sale online Thursday, November 12, at 10 a.m. Eastern, which is 8 a.m. in Montana. The terms on the Lolo National Forest permit page, last updated September 30, 2026:
- One permit covers one tree, at $5 per tree.
- Each person can buy up to three permits.
- Buying online adds a $2.50 Recreation.gov transaction fee.
- You print the permit and display it on your dashboard while you're out cutting.
- Fourth graders with an Every Kid Outdoors pass get one free permit, either by entering the pass at online checkout or by bringing it to a Lolo National Forest office.
If you'd rather buy in person, the Ninemile Ranger Station is at 20325 Remount Road in Huson, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Forest Service suggests calling ahead to make sure someone is there to issue a permit. The permit also comes with cutting rules. Trees can't come from private land, wilderness areas, designated recreation sites, previously thinned areas or tree plantations. They also can't be within 150 feet of streams and creeks, or visible from major roads. The Forest Service also asks cutters to carry a Motor Vehicle Use Map, which is free at its offices or available on the Avenza app.
Two Schoolhouses, Two Ways of Keeping One
The two buildings explain why the valley's events look the way they do.
The 9 Mile Schoolhouse says it was built in the early 1900s as a one-room school and teachers' home. It has been restored for weddings, celebrations, overnight stays and community events. On its homepage, the venue says the building "once rang with the laughter of children and the sound of the bell calling them to class," and that it now rings again for seasonal festivities. Because it's a private venue, its holiday events include free gatherings along with ticketed ones.
The Nine Mile Community Center has a longer public record. Its About page says the Stark School House was built in 1915, deeded to the community in 1949, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. The church next door started out as a storage shed for the Beaver Dredging Company's dry land mining operations. When mining ended around 1949, local residents moved it to the Proebstel property on Kennedy Creek Road and converted it into a church. Its pews, chancellery furniture and bell came from the Cut Bank Presbyterian Church after that congregation built a new church in 1950. In 2006, the building was donated to the Nine Mile Community and moved next to the school. A covered pavilion was added in 2012.
The Center's own list of uses shows how much of valley life passes through it. The Nine Mile Weed Group, the Nine Mile Land Use Planning Group and the Nine Mile Creek Restoration group meet there. Missoula County holds public hearings there and uses it for briefings during forest fires and wildlife encounters. It also hosts candidate forums, holiday craft fairs and potlucks. The same building that hosts briefings during fire season hosts a carol sing in November.
November 28 at the Stark School House
The Community Center's Old Fashioned Christmas and Holiday Fair runs Saturday, November 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. It's free and open to the public. The posted schedule:
- 10 a.m.: Doors open, with handmade crafts and baked goods for sale
- 11 a.m.: Homecooked lunch by the Ladies of Nine Mile
- 11 a.m.: Black powder target shooting with the Sapphire Mountain Men
- All day: Hay rides, plus music and carols by the Sweet Adelines
- 3 p.m.: Doors close
The event page also says visitors can look around the historic schoolhouse, church and grounds, and it calls the lunch a homemade soup lunch made by the 9-Mile Community. The organizers also list an old-fashioned turkey shoot. The fair falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, about two weeks into tree-cutting season.
December Goes Back to Remount Road
In December, most events move back to the 9 Mile Schoolhouse.
The Enchanted Christmas Village runs on two Saturdays, December 5 and December 12, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The schoolhouse lists Santa visits, crafts, caroling, treats and wagon rides. Tickets are $12 for each date.
On the evening of December 12, after the Village closes, the schoolhouse holds its Festive Feast from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The $85 ticket includes welcome cocktails, a holiday grazing table, a four-course dinner with four wine pairings, and live entertainment. According to the Festive Feast page, proceeds after event expenses go to local high school students who have been displaced from their homes, to help provide comfort and stability over the holidays.
So the free tree lighting in November, where the schoolhouse names a nonprofit to honor, leads to a paid December dinner whose proceeds support local students.
Here's the full calendar in order:
| Date | Event | Venue | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 12 | Lolo tree permits go on sale online, 8 a.m. Mountain | Recreation.gov | $5 per tree plus $2.50 fee |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Tree-cutting season opens | Lolo National Forest | Permit required |
| Fri., Nov. 13 | Old-Fashioned Tree Lighting, 6–8 p.m. | 9 Mile Schoolhouse | Free |
| Sat., Nov. 28 | Old Fashioned Christmas and Holiday Fair, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. | Nine Mile Community Center | Free |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Enchanted Christmas Village, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | 9 Mile Schoolhouse | $12 |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Enchanted Christmas Village, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | 9 Mile Schoolhouse | $12 |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Festive Feast, 6:30–9:30 p.m. | 9 Mile Schoolhouse | $85 |
| Thu., Dec. 24 | Christmas Eve Celebration, 5:30–8 p.m. | Nine Mile Community Center | Potluck |
| Thu., Dec. 31 | Last day of tree-cutting season | Lolo National Forest | Permit required |
Christmas Eve Ends Where the Fair Was
The season ends back at the Stark School House grounds. The Nine Mile Community Center's Christmas Eve Celebration runs December 24 from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with a service at 6 p.m. and a community potluck afterward. The grounds hold the church whose pews and bell came from Cut Bank around 1950, and it has stood next to the 1915 schoolhouse since 2006.
After Christmas Eve, tree permits are good for one more week, through December 31.
Many Nine Mile homes are tied to the valley partly through its schoolhouses, potlucks and fair days, and those connections are part of what a property here offers. If you're thinking about what your Huson home or acreage is worth heading into the new year, Bethany Taylor knows how to present this valley at its best. Start with a Complimentary Valuation, and find more on the area on the Huson neighborhood page or in our look at the valley's two summer calendars.
