Resources · Climate

Acreage guides for towns in this county: Bonnyville · Cold Lake

Hardiness Zone in MD of Bonnyville

MD of Bonnyville is generally treated as Canadian plant hardiness zone 2b, with a frost-free window on the order of 105 days. The zone is read from the Natural Resources Canada plant hardiness map (4th edition, 1991–2020 normals) at a representative quarter; frost dates are a regional table keyed by zone, not a logger on your fence. Those two numbers decide more tree deaths than soil tests do.

Zone 3a with about 100 frost-free days, moderated near the larger lakes. Low ground along the Beaver River frosts early.

What the zone is — and is not

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s plant hardiness maps combine several climate variables, not just one winter low. A zone 2b label means a typical winter in this belt, not the worst winter of the decade, and not the frost pocket at the bottom of your driveway.

Use it to:

• Filter nursery stock (do not buy zone 5 peaches for a MD of Bonnyville field)
• Plan shelterbelts that will still be standing in twenty years
• Time cover crops against a 105-day window

Do not use it to:

• Ignore a north-facing draw
• Skip a thermometer logger for one season
• Assume the town of Bonnyville and a rural quarter share the same last frost

Frost-free days in practice

105 days is a regional sketch. Last spring frost and first fall frost move with elevation, wet ground, and cold-air drainage. In MD of Bonnyville, watch:

• River and lake edges that radiate heat at night — or collect cold
• Open peat or muskeg that frosts early
• South walls and gravel pads that buy you a week

A food forest that needs 130 days will fight this county most years. A shelterbelt of zone 2b natives will not.

Pair climate with water and sun

Zone is only one pillar. A 2b site with a 47 m well and 0.8 kWh/m²/day in winter is a different homestead than the same zone on a municipal line. Plan trees, wells, and panels on the same map.

Flood or wet ground near Beaver River valley, Moose Lake shoreline, Cold Lake lowlands can also shorten the effective season by keeping soils cold in May.

See this for your specific parcel

Generate a free land report for a property in MD of Bonnyville →

Sampled data for MD of Bonnyville

From a Land Intelligence report run on a representative quarter in Township 61, Range 6, W4. These are measured or record-based values for that location, shown to put the county figures above in context. They are not your parcel.

Growing zones near MD of Bonnyville: Bonnyville (zone 2b) · Cold Lake (zone 2b) · St. Paul (zone 2b) · Alberta growing zones map

Neighbouring counties: County of St. Paul (51 km) · Lac La Biche County (90 km) · County of Two Hills (91 km) · County of Vermilion River (112 km) · Compare MD of Bonnyville with another county

Sampled from the live report pipeline at a representative quarter in Township 61, Range 6, W4 on 2026-10-08: well depth, hardiness zone, solar irradiance (363 well records within 5 km). Text reviewed 2026-10-09. Methodology.

Common questions

What should I plant in MD of Bonnyville?

Start with zone 2b stock and a 105-day season. Then walk frost pockets.

Is the town of Bonnyville the same zone?

Often close, not identical. Elevation and cold-air drainage on a rural lot can run colder than town.