The northern white-cedar is a shrub to small tree, heights can reach 20' to 40' tall and 10' to 15' wide. Its trunk is often twisted, strongly tapered, and frequently divided into two or more direct stems. Its branches are short and nearly horizontal which sometimes forms almost impenetrable thickets because dead branches are very stiff and persistent. The bark is gray to reddish-brown, separating in long, vertical, narrow shreddy strips. Its leaves are scale-like and are green to yellowish-green and grow flat. The white cedar has a pleasant, aromatic scent when crushed. It has a small, oblong yellowish-brown cone that ripens in the fall of the first year, growing in large clusters on the ends of branches.
