South Lake Tahoe, CA 95720 Frost Dates
Frost dates for South Lake Tahoe, CA, ZIP 95720
Around 04/26 is the usual last spring frost, about 241 days away. The first fall frost typically arrives around 11/02, about 191 frost-free days later.
Zone 7b (5 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 South Lake Tahoe, not a forecast for this year.
What to do before the first frost
Zone 7b around South Lake Tahoe 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.
How much risk comes with planting early here
04/26 is the middle of 30 years of NOAA records, not a promise. Plant by 04/10 and you're betting against frost in roughly 9 years out of 10. 05/19 is the safer bet, historically only a 1-in-10 chance of frost that late.
How South Lake Tahoe compares
South Lake Tahoe's growing season runs about 191 days, ranking 20,718 of 40,283 US ZIP codes measured here, longest to shortest. Within CA, it ranks 2,306 of 2,555.
Learn more
zone vs. frost date explains why Zone 7b and South Lake Tahoe's frost date answer different questions, and the frost range explains how to read the range around South Lake Tahoe's dates instead of trusting one.