Brush and Slash Removal in the Foothills.
By Darius Schultz, owner · Updated
You spent the summer thinning trees around the house, and now there is a pile. Here is every place in the Jeffco foothills that takes slash this fall, what each one refuses, and when a hauler is the better deal.
- Owner-operated from Golden, no travel fee to the foothills
- Registered & Insured, price approved on site before we load
- Mon to Sat 7am to 7pm, Sunday by appointment
What Is Still Open This Slash Season.
With a truck and a clean pile of branches, the cheapest answer is a county SLASH yard. As of late September 2026 that means Tincup Ridge in Golden, open weekends through October 25. The other 2026 county yards have closed or close September 27.
Next, check your fire district. Genesee Fire Rescue holds a drop-off October 1 to 3, Golden Gate Fire has a slash day October 3, and Evergreen Fire/Rescue and Indian Hills Fire Rescue chip piles into October.
No way to haul it, a pile down a steep drive, mixed debris, or a missed deadline? That is when our yard waste and brush removal earns its price.
What Slash Is, and Why Foothills Homes Make So Much.
Slash is the woody debris left when you cut or thin trees and shrubs: limbs, tops, prunings and pine cones. In Evergreen, Genesee, Kittredge and Indian Hills, most of it comes from creating defensible space around the house.
The Colorado State Forest Service splits defensible space into three zones. Zone 1 is the first 5 feet from the house, where its Home Ignition Zone guide says to remove all flammable vegetation, including slash. Zone 2 runs 5 to 30 feet out, where it warns against large accumulations of logs, branches and slash. Zone 3 runs to 100 feet.
The guide says to dispose of slash by chipping it, hauling it to a disposal site or piling it to burn later, and to keep any accumulation at least 30 feet from the home. That is the catch: a mitigation weekend leaves a big pile right where the risk is worst, and it does no good until it leaves.
Sources: Colorado State Forest Service, defensible space zones and its Home Ignition Zone guide (PDF).
The Free and Cheap Options, Honestly.
If one of these fits your pile and your calendar, use it. Every detail comes from the program's own page, checked September 26, 2026. Yards can close early for weather or capacity, so check the link before you load up.
| Program | Fall 2026 dates | Cost | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeffco Tincup Ridge SLASH Yard, 101 Rooney Rd, Golden | Fri to Sun, 9am to 4pm, through Oct 25 | $24 per 6-yard load, credit card only | Residents and non-residents |
| Genesee Fire Rescue drop-off, 23455 Currant Dr, Golden | Oct 1, 2 and 3, 10am to 2pm | No fee listed | Genesee Fire Protection District residents |
| Golden Gate Fire slash day, 25201 Golden Gate Canyon Rd | Oct 3, 9am to 2pm | $20 per load, cash or check | See the district page |
| Evergreen Fire/Rescue chipping | All zones through Oct 15 | $125 for five 5x5x5 ft piles | District residents, by registration |
| Indian Hills Fire Rescue roadside chipping | Pickup windows from Oct 15 and Oct 29 | Free | District residents, by sign-up |
Jefferson County SLASH Yards
Jeffco runs its SLASH program (Sustainable Lands and Safer Homes) with the Jefferson Conservation District, which calls it an affordable option for residents and small contractors. One load is 6 cubic yards: a truck bed full to cab height, or a trailer up to 8 x 5 x 4 ft. The rotating 2026 yards in Pine and at Marshdale in Evergreen have closed, and Blue Mountain in Coal Creek Canyon closes September 27. Tincup Ridge runs Fridays to Sundays through October 25, with the remaining weekends October 2 to 4, 9 to 11, 16 to 18 and 23 to 25. Arrive at least 30 minutes before closing. Tincup is also the only yard that takes pine beetle infested logs, and only after September 30, and residents can load mulch there for free. Sources: jeffco.us/2493/Slash-Collection and its 2026 calendar, and jcd.colorado.gov.
Genesee Fire and Golden Gate Fire Drop-Offs
Genesee Fire Rescue's drop-off is in the station's upper parking lot. It takes tree branches only, under 8 ft long and up to 8 inches thick. Genesee Foundation members also get annual curbside chipping and pine needle pickup through their assessment. Golden Gate Fire's October 3 slash day at the Golden Gate Grange takes unlimited loads of about 4 x 8 x 5 ft, with limbs 8 ft or shorter and 6 inches or thinner. Sources: geneseefire.org, geneseefoundation.org and goldengatefire.colorado.gov.
Evergreen and Indian Hills Chipping
Both districts chip piles at your property. Evergreen Fire/Rescue chips Monday to Thursday, one request per household. Piles go within 5 feet of the road, never on a driveway or in a ditch, and the district notes its vehicles may not reach steep or curvy driveways. Indian Hills Fire Rescue's program is free, and you do not need to be home. Piles can be up to 4 x 4 x 8 ft, with branches 3 ft or longer, where a truck can easily reach them, up to 25 piles a season. Sources: evergreenfirerescue.com and ihfr.org.
What the Yards and Chippers Turn Away.
These programs protect a chipper or grinder, and a load that breaks the rules can be turned away. Per their own pages:
- Stumps and root wads. Refused by the Jeffco yards, Genesee Fire and both chipping programs.
- Leaves, rakings and needles. Jeffco refuses leaves and wants needles kept separate. Genesee takes neither, and both chippers skip raked material.
- Lumber, trash, rocks and dirt. Refused everywhere, including treated wood and wood with nails.
- Oversize wood. Most cap branches at 8 inches thick; Golden Gate caps them at 6.
- Machine-built piles. No loading or stacking with a tractor.
- Juniper, rotten wood, vines. Evergreen skips juniper and rotted or burned wood; Indian Hills skips rotting wood and vines.
When a Hauler Makes More Sense.
A $24 load at Tincup is a great deal if you own a truck, have a free weekend and a clean pile. Paying us makes sense when:
- You have no truck or trailer. The yards only take what you bring.
- The pile is down a steep or tight drive. Chippers need piles at the road. We load where the pile is.
- It is a big volume. A full mitigation job can mean many 6-yard loads and many weekend trips.
- The deadline passed. Tincup closes after October 25. We pick up Monday to Saturday, before and after the yards close.
- It is mixed debris. Slash with raked needles, old fencing or cut stumps already out of the ground. The yards refuse it; we take it in one load.
- You cannot lift it, or would rather not. Loading green limbs is hard work.
- You are outside the district. The fire district programs serve their own residents.
Brush and slash ride to STS with the rest of the load, like all our green waste. We do not cut, fell or dig. If trees still need to come down, hire a tree service first, then text us a photo of the pile.
What We Charge for Brush and Slash.
Brush and slash are priced by the yard: $149 for the first 2 cubic yards, then $75 a yard. A cubic yard is 3 x 3 x 3 ft. That includes the drive, loading, haul and dump fee, and you approve the price on site before anything is loaded.
| Typical pile (estimate) | Rough size | Estimated price |
|---|---|---|
| Storm limbs or one small brush pile | About 3 x 3 x 6 ft, 2 yards | $149 |
| One chipper-size pile | 5 x 5 x 5 ft, 4 to 5 yards | $299 to $374 |
| One Jeffco-size load | 8 x 5 x 4 ft, about 6 yards | $449 |
| Two chipper-size piles | 9 to 10 yards | $674 to $749 |
| A full Zone 1 and Zone 2 thinning job | 12 to 15 yards, two trips | $899 to $1,124 |
Estimates only. Loose brush varies, so the real number is set by what the pile measures on site. Extra trips are never charged.
No travel fee. The only extra is for a very remote or hard-to-reach property, and you hear about it before we drive out.
Stairs are $25 a flight if the brush comes up or down them. A carry over 100 ft from where the truck parks is +$40.
The +$25 a yard heavy-material charge is for concrete, tile, brick and roofing. Branches, brush and needles never get it.
For the full rate card, see the pricing page or the yard waste cost guide. We do not take dirt, sod, rock or gravel.
How to Prep a Slash Pile for Pickup.
- Cut it under 8 ft. It stacks flat in a 6x10 trailer, and the same length works at every drop-off above.
- Stack it, cut ends together. A neat stack takes fewer yards than a tangled heap, and fewer yards costs less.
- Pile it by the driveway. Within 100 ft of where the truck parks, there is no long-carry charge.
- Leave room for the rig. We come with a Silverado and a 6x10 dump trailer. Tell us about tight turns, gates, shared drives and gate codes when you send the photo.
- Keep the dirt out. Knock soil off any root balls already out of the ground.
- Keep piles back from the house. The Forest Service says at least 30 feet.
Then text a photo of the pile to (720) 689-3713. Replies are usually within 10 minutes during business hours.
Slash Season Questions.
Where can I drop off slash in Jefferson County?
What is the cheapest way to get rid of slash?
How much does brush and slash removal cost?
Do you charge extra to come up to Evergreen or the foothills?
What do slash yards and chipping programs not accept?
Can you take slash mixed with leaves, needles or old lumber?
Do I need to cut the branches to a certain length?
Why do I need to get rid of slash at all?
Where To Go From Here.
Branches, brush, slash piles and leaves, loaded and hauled.
Genesee, Kittredge, Indian Hills and the canyons west of Golden.
Mountain homes, steep drives, and brush and slash.
Home base on W Colfax, from the mesas to the foothills.
The old-town blocks, Bear Creek and the roads off 285.
The yard table and the only add-ons we charge.
Missed the Slash Yard? Text the Pile.
Send a photo of the brush and where it sits. Replies are usually within 10 minutes during business hours, with a price by the yard and a pickup day.
Snap a Photo of the Items, Get a Price
Drop your number below. Darius texts your price back, usually within 10 minutes during business hours.
Got it!
Darius will text you a price shortly. Keep your phone handy. The reply comes from (720) 689-3713.
In a hurry? Call now and skip the wait.