Detroit Lakes, MN 56578 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Detroit Lakes, MN?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/05, roughly 250 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/03, about 150 frost-free days later.
Zone 4a (-30 to -25°F average annual minimum) comes from the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map; the frost dates above are the 1991-2020 normal at the nearest reporting NOAA station for Detroit Lakes, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 5 weeks of growing season left in Detroit Lakes before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
The actual range around Detroit Lakes's last frost
05/05 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/21 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/18 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Detroit Lakes compares
Detroit Lakes's growing season runs about 150 days, ranking 35,259 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within MN, it ranks 514 of 943.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Detroit Lakes can differ from the 56578 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 4a and Detroit Lakes's frost date answer different questions.