Oak Park, IL 60302 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Oak Park, IL, ZIP 60302
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 04/11, roughly 226 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/31, about 201 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Oak Park in Zone 6a (-10 to -5°F average annual minimum); frost dates are NOAA's 1991-2020 station normal, not this year's forecast.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6a around Oak Park has about 9 weeks left before the first fall frost — that's the usual window to get a cold frame up if you want to keep harvesting past it.
Why 04/11 isn't a guarantee
04/11 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 03/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 04/27 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Oak Park compares
About 201 days separate Oak Park's last and first frost, putting it 17,445 of 40,283 ZIP codes nationally. Within IL, it ranks 236 of 1,548.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Oak Park can differ from the 60302 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6a and Oak Park's frost date answer different questions.