A skidder is a type of heavy vehicle used in forestry for pulling cut trees (timber) out of a forest as part of a logging project.

It is a tracked or four-wheel-drive tractor with a winch, having steel, funnel-shaped guards on the rear to protect the wheels. They have articulated steering and usually a small, adjustable, push-blade on the front. The operator/logger is protected from falling or flying debris by a steel enclosure. Some skidders have a hydraulic grapple claw instead of a winch, and the claw grips and lifts one end of the timber. On a cable skidder, the cable is reeled out and attached to a load of cut timber, then the powerful winch pulls the load toward the skidder. The winch or grapple holds the trees while the skidder drags them to a "landing" area or other collection point for forwarding to a loading point near a road. The skidder can also be used for pulling tree stumps, pushing over small trees, and preliminary grading of a logging path known as a "skid road." They are rarely used for moving marketable logs (trees with limbs already removed) because of the damage to the wood from being dragged.

One disadvantage of skidder logging in thinning operations is the damage to remaining trees as branches and trunks are dragged against them, tearing away the protective bark of living trees. Another concern is the deep furrows sometimes made by skidders, which alter surface runoff patterns.

See also

• Feller buncher machine
• Log forwarder machine