Dolores, CO 81335 Frost Dates
Frost dates for Dolores, CO, ZIP 81335
The last spring frost here typically falls around 05/15, about 260 days from today. The first fall frost typically arrives around 10/08, about 147 frost-free days later.
Zone 6b (-5 to 0°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 Dolores, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 6b around Dolores has about 6 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 05/15 isn't a guarantee
05/15 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/30 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/31 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Dolores compares
Dolores's growing season runs about 147 days, ranking 35,944 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CO, it ranks 349 of 624.
Learn more
local microclimates explains what one yard in Dolores can differ from the 81335 normal, and zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 6b and Dolores's frost date answer different questions.