Colorado Springs, CO 80831 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Colorado Springs, CO?
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/09, about 254 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/06, about 150 frost-free days later.
Zone 5b (-15 to -10°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 Colorado Springs, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
About 6 weeks of growing season left in Colorado Springs before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
How much risk comes with planting early here
05/09 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/28 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/20 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Colorado Springs compares
At roughly 150 frost-free days, Colorado Springs places 35,224 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within CO, it ranks 323 of 624.
Learn more
local microclimates covers what one yard in Colorado Springs can differ from the 80831 normal. zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 5b and Colorado Springs's frost date answer different questions.