Chelmsford's older neighborhoods have oaks and maples that were planted when the town was still farmland — back when 'the highway' meant the road to Lowell. When those 80-year-old trees start dropping limbs on your roof or cracking your driveway, we are ten minutes away. Same number since 1995. Same truck, mostly.
McDonald Tree Service handles tree removal, pruning, stump grinding, and 24/7 emergency storm work in Chelmsford, Massachusetts. We’re family-owned, based in Billerica since 1995, and Chelmsford is one of 18 Middlesex County towns we cover — owner Keith McDonald and his own crew do every job, no subcontractors. Tree removal generally runs $300 to $3,000+ depending on size and access, pruning $200 to $1,500, and stump grinding $150 to $300; we give you one firm number on-site, not a guess over the phone. Fully licensed and insured with workers’ comp, rated 4.7 out of 5 on Google across 62 reviews. Free estimates — give us a call at (978) 375-2272.
Tree Removal
Hazardous trees, storm damage, dead wood — removed clean. We bring the right equipment, three decades of experience, and a crew that treats your lawn like their own. When we leave, the only proof we were there is the missing tree.
Learn MoreTree Pruning
Healthy trees start with proper pruning. Crown thinning, dead wood removal, structural cuts — all done to ISA standards by an experienced crew.
Learn MoreStump Grinding
We grind stumps 6 to 12 inches below grade so you can plant, pave, or just enjoy a clean yard. Most jobs are done in about an hour.
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Years in Business
24/7
Emergency Response
Chelmsford has some of the biggest residential trees in Middlesex County. We have been working under them — and taking them down — for over three decades. (The trees, statistically, are still ahead.)
We Handle the Monsters
The red and white oaks off North Road are 70-80 feet tall and 3-4 feet across at the trunk. When one of those needs to come down next to a house, you need a crew that has done it hundreds of times and is not visibly nervous. We are that crew. The kind of removal where the homeowner watches from the kitchen window with a coffee, holds their breath at the first rigging cut, and then asks how long this is going to take so they can put a real lunch together.
Tight Lots in Vinal Square
Not all of Chelmsford has big yards. Vinal Square and South Chelmsford have tight lots where conventional felling is not an option (the kind of access where your neighbour's chain-link fence is the only thing standing between you and an awkward conversation). We rig, section, and lower pieces through spaces other companies walk away from. The 40,000-pound chip truck and I have driven these streets enough to know which ones it will fit on without playing pool with the parked cars.
Wetland Work Done Right
Heart Pond, Freeman Lake, Stony Brook floodplain — Chelmsford has significant wetland areas, and the Conservation Commission has noticed. We know the process under MGL Chapter 131 Section 40 and we file the paperwork so removals near water stay legal and clean. We have walked enough buffer zones with the Con Com to know which questions they ask before they ask them.
We Talk You Out of Removals That Don't Need to Happen
A Chelmsford homeowner off Acton Road called us last year for a removal quote on an old maple they thought was dying — significant deadwood in the canopy, looked rough from the porch. Keith walked the trunk, found sound wood and a healthy root flare, and recommended structural pruning instead. The tree is still there. They saved several thousand dollars. We would rather lose the removal job than take down a tree that just needs deadwood out and a clean thinning cut. Dead wood inside an otherwise healthy crown is prune-it territory. More than a third of the canopy dead — that is when removal becomes the right conversation.
Common jobs in Chelmsford
Chelmsford keeps us busy year-round. The neighborhoods around Heart Pond and up toward North Chelmsford have some of the biggest residential trees in Middlesex County — oaks and maples that have been growing since the town was still farmland and Route 3 was still a dirt road.
The corridor brought a lot of development over the years, but the older streets off North Road and around Chelmsford Center still have that classic New England tree canopy. When those 80-year-old maples start dropping limbs on roofs, that is when we get the call. (Usually about three days after the limb actually dropped. We understand. Nobody wants to make that phone call until the coffee is in.)
Vinal Square and South Chelmsford tend to have tighter lots, which means more technical removals. We have taken down trees in backyards where you could not fit a pickup truck, let alone a bucket lift. That is where experience matters — knowing where to rig, where to cut, and how to get the wood out without tearing up the lawn. The crew that walks past a Vinal Square job because it 'looks like a hassle' is not the crew you want anyway.
We are 10 minutes from Chelmsford. When a storm rolls through, we are usually there before the power company finishes its first sweep.
Chelmsford's canopy is anchored by massive red oaks (Quercus rubra) and white oaks (Quercus alba) in the older neighborhoods around the center and North Road. Sugar maples (Acer saccharum) line residential streets and provide spectacular fall color but develop heavy limbs prone to ice damage. White pines (Pinus strobus) dominate newer lots and the Route 3 corridor edges. Eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) are present near waterways but increasingly threatened by hemlock woolly adelgid. Ash trees are dying off rapidly from emerald ash borer.
Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Is Spreading in Chelmsford
If you have eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) on your property — especially near Heart Pond or the Stony Brook corridor — check the undersides of the needles for small white cotton-like masses. That is hemlock woolly adelgid, and it is essentially a tiny Godzilla for hemlock trees: small, persistent, and very bad news for the canopy. Caught early, systemic insecticide treatment can save the tree. Left alone, hemlocks decline within 3-5 years and then come down in pieces that rarely fall the way you would prefer. We can assess yours and tell you which conversation it is (you can also impress people at the next town meeting by knowing the Latin name).
Chelmsford, MA
Chelmsford, MA
Chelmsford, MA
Chelmsford, MA
Chelmsford, MA
We regularly work near Heart Pond, Freeman Lake, Chelmsford Center Common, Route 3 corridor and throughout Chelmsford.
Chelmsford requires approval from the Tree Warden for removal of public shade trees. Private property removals typically don't need permits unless in conservation areas. Contact Town Hall for wetland buffer questions.
Permit requirements change. Always confirm with your local municipality before starting tree work. We can help you navigate the permitting process — call us at (978) 375-2272.
Chelmsford Tree Warden & Scenic Roads
Chelmsford's Tree Warden has to approve removal of any public shade tree, with a public hearing under MGL Chapter 87. The town has designated scenic roads where tree removal requires Planning Board approval to preserve rural character (a rule that exists for the same reason most good rules exist — because somebody once tried it without the rule and the town did not like the result). Properties near Heart Pond, Freeman Lake, or Stony Brook are within wetland buffer zones requiring Conservation Commission review. Contact Chelmsford Town Hall or call us — we have been through this process many times and we file the paperwork so you do not have to.
We do it regularly. North Road has some of Chelmsford's biggest oaks, and many are planted within 15-20 feet of a house — close enough that you can hear the leaves hit the gutter in October. We rig from the top, lower every piece on ropes, and section the tree down to a stump without it touching anything you would prefer it not touch. For the really big ones — right against the house, over a pool — we bring in a crane. We have removed dozens of large oaks on North Road and the surrounding streets without so much as a bent gutter. I would not write that sentence if I could not back it up.
Yes — but properties within 100 feet of Heart Pond, Freeman Lake, or any wetland resource area need Conservation Commission review under MGL Chapter 131 Section 40. That does not mean no. It means paperwork. We have handled these applications in Chelmsford many times. Hazardous trees usually get approved once the commission sees the documentation, because the Con Com is also not in the business of letting a dying eighty-foot oak fall on a kayak rack.
For a big oak or maple — 60 to 80 feet — in a typical Chelmsford lot, you are looking at $1,200 to $3,000 depending on access and proximity to structures. Chelmsford's larger lots usually mean we can get equipment in, which brings the price down compared to a tight-lot city like Lowell. Smaller trees in open yards run $350 to $550. We quote on-site, and the number we give you is the number you pay — no 'starting at,' no 'we will know when we get there.' That phrase has cost homeowners more than the tree did.
Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae) — an aphid-sized insect punching far above its weight class. It feeds on hemlock sap; look for white cottony masses on the underside of the branches. It is spreading through Chelmsford's hemlock stands near the waterways. Caught early, systemic insecticide can save the tree. Once the canopy thins by more than a third, removal is usually the better call — a dying hemlock falls in pieces and almost never the direction you want.
Yes. The Route 3 corridor developments involve lot clearing, selective thinning, and stump grinding for new construction. We also handle the opposite problem — trees that were left standing during development and are now stressed because the forest around them was removed. Those 'lone survivors' often decline within 5-10 years and become removal candidates. The lesson, generally, is that trees do not love being told they are now alone.
Pool prep is one of our most common Chelmsford stump grinding jobs. We grind deep — 12 inches or more below grade — to meet pool contractor specifications. If there are multiple stumps in the pool zone, we package the price. Call ahead so we can coordinate timing with your pool installer.
Chelmsford has designated scenic roads where tree removal requires Planning Board approval to preserve the town's rural character. This applies to trees within the road right-of-way or visible from the road on those specific streets. We'll tell you at the estimate if your tree is affected and help with the approval process.
Rule of thumb: a few dead branches in an otherwise healthy crown means prune them out. More than a third of the canopy dead, a new lean that wasn't there last year, mushrooms or conks at the base, or a deep crack in the main trunk — those are removal conversations. We'll walk your property and tell you honestly which call applies. If pruning will do the job, we'll quote pruning. We don't push removals.
If you're going to call three arborists and pick whichever is cheapest, no questions asked, don't call us. We will lose that bid to the crew whose insurance certificate, on close inspection, lapsed about six months ago — and the day a branch lands on your neighbor's car you will wish you hadn't won the price war. The model we work in is: you have one local arborist you trust who knows the town. That works when you're ready for one guy, not when you are collecting business cards. For a single big removal where you genuinely want to compare scope, sure, get two quotes. Verify licensing and insurance on every one of them, in writing.
24/7 emergency storm damage tree removal and cleanup
Learn MoreCrane-assisted removal for large or hazardous trees
Learn MoreBrush clearing, undergrowth removal, and property cleanup
Learn MoreProfessional arborist assessment and risk evaluation
Learn MoreNeed tree work in Chelmsford? Call Keith directly. Free estimates, honest pricing, and a crew that shows up on time. We've been at this for 30+ years.
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