Rifle, CO 81650 Frost Dates
When can you plant in Rifle, CO?
Typically, the last spring freeze lands around 05/23, roughly 268 days out. The first fall frost typically arrives around 09/25, about 124 frost-free days later.
The USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map puts Rifle 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
About 4 weeks of growing season left in Rifle before the first fall frost — a cold frame or row cover can stretch harvest weeks past that date.
Why 05/23 isn't a guarantee
05/23 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 05/09 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 06/06 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How Rifle compares
At roughly 124 frost-free days, Rifle places 38,825 of 40,283 ZIP codes in this dataset. Within CO, it ranks 454 of 624.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date covers why Zone 6a and Rifle's frost date answer different questions. the frost range covers how to read the range around Rifle's dates instead of trusting one.