The Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) spans USDA hardiness zones 4b-5a — enough range to grow cool-season vegetables, hardy fruit, and warm-season crops that mature before the first hard frost.
Lander and Riverton's sheltered basin — a banana belt by Wyoming standards, where the Wind River's 4b-5a floor squeezes out a 147-171-day season the surrounding high country cannot match. On paper, potato, rhubarb, chokecherry, and indian paintbrush all suit these conditions — on the ground, soil, sun, and drainage make the final call.
The Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) spans Wyoming.
Your yard isn't all of the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton).
The Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) spans USDA zones 4b-5a, but your parcel sits in exactly one — and slope, tree cover, and low spots nudge it further. Enter your address and we'll score 1,086 plants against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data around Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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The Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) — the short answer
The Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton): USDA zones 4b-5a, 147–171 frost-free days, in Wyoming.
- USDA zones
- 4b-5a
- USDA PHZM 2023, aggregated over the footprint
- Frost-free season
- 147–171 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020
- Towns
- 6
- US Census TIGER/Line 2025
- Region type
- Town cluster
- Growable Ground growing-region registry
Region boundary: Growable Ground growing-region registry — curated county clusters, EPA Level III ecoregions, and town clusters drawn finer than any county. Where a region publishes no measured season, no season figure is shown.
Hardiness Zone Range
What Grows in the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
Plants matched to the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)'s USDA zones 4b-5a, ordered by how much hardiness margin each has across the region — the ones with room to spare at both ends of this band lead. Each links to its full growing profile.
Native Plants of the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
Plants the USDA PLANTS Database documents as native and present in this region’s state, kept only where the published hardiness range meets the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)’s USDA zones 4b-5a — closest range match first. Presence is recorded by state, so a plant can be documented across the state and still be scarce in your corner of the region.
The ground around the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
The USDA soil survey maps this ground county by county. These are those records weighted by land area across the county containing the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) — the ground the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) sits in, read at the only grain the survey publishes.
In the county containing the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton), the ground is predominantly Aridisols, at 42% of mapped acres, followed by Entisols (37%), Mollisols (15%) and Inceptisols (4%). Six soil orders appear in that record, which is the honest reason a regional soil answer only goes so far. The most extensive named soils are Bosler, Rock River, and Persayo.
85% of those acres are well drained, and another 2% poorly drained, 2% somewhat poorly drained. Topsoil pH runs 7.2–8.2 in that county’s own record.
Soil order
Aridisols
Drainage
Well drained
Topsoil pH
7.2–8.2
Hydric soils
2%
Soil changes across a driveway, so which of these your own ground sits on is a parcel question rather than a regional one. soil types explained.
USDA NRCS SSURGO via Soil Data Access
What this means for growing in the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
The soil survey reads this ground county by county, and the readings above are the record for the county containing the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton). Here is what they mean for a garden here — and the move an experienced grower makes about each one.
Drainage
From county records85% of the mapped acres across the county containing the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) are well drained — ground that drains quickly. The survey maps this ground county-wide, so it describes the setting the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) sits in rather than the valley floor alone.
The upside is soil you can work early in spring and roots that never drown; the cost is that fast-draining ground dries out fast and leaches nutrients away before plants can use them.
Work in compost and mulch to hold moisture and feed, and water more often in short doses than deep and rarely.
USDA NRCS SSURGO
Surface pH
From county recordsTopsoil across the county containing the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) runs pH 7.2–8.2 — alkaline in the one record covering it.
Many vegetables cope, but acid-lovers like blueberries struggle, and iron and manganese lock up above about pH 7.5 — leaves yellow between the veins even in rich soil.
Elemental sulfur and generous organic matter lower pH slowly for the beds that need it; test first so you add only what the soil actually calls for.
USDA NRCS SSURGO
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) — and how to grow with it.
Across Fremont County, which contains the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton), the federal record holds 821 documented sites, mostly Nitrate (414), Underground Storage Tanks (265) and Brownfields (103).
That is the containing county's count — this region is a smaller piece of that ground, so it is context, not a reading of any one lot. Open the map outlined to the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) to see which records sit where you actually grow.
Sources Checked
Summed across the county containing the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton), Nitrate runs higher than the national average — 414 sites across the county containing the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
Nitrate: Nitrate contamination primarily comes from agricultural fertilizer runoff and failing septic systems.
Test well water for nitrate if you rely on a private well for irrigation (EPA standard: 10 mg/L).
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
Your land is one point inside the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
Everything above resolves to the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) as a whole — a footprint spanning USDA zones 4b-5a. Your parcel sits in exactly one of them. Slope, tree cover, a low spot that pools cold air, and what is in the soil are all resolved at the address, and none of them are visible at region scale. That is the honest boundary of this page, and the reason the next step is a reading of your own ground rather than a better regional average.
Your Lot vs the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) Average
Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) Average
- ●USDA Zones 4b-5a, averaged across Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
- ●One soil character for all of Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
- ●State-average frost dates
YOUR Parcel
- ✓Your exact zone, not Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)'s 4b-5a
- ✓Your SSURGO soil type & pH
- ✓Your sun exposure, cast in 3D
See MY Growing Report
Read your parcel in the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
Pull a site-specific report for your exact address in the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) — soil, sun, drainage, frost risk, contamination, and scored plant recommendations.
Three things about your lot that Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) averages can't show:
We read public map data around The Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) average
How we know this about the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
The boundary: the region's own towns — a footprint finer than any county, because the county average would misread this microclimate. Growing regions have no official boundary, so this footprint is our published one, and every figure on this page was measured over the towns inside it rather than borrowed from the state around it.
The datasets: hardiness from the USDA ARS Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023, aggregated across the footprint; the growing season from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS 1991–2020 28°F normals, read at each member’s own record; boundaries from US Census TIGER/Line 2025; the contamination record from the federal sources named in that beat above; the soil from the USDA NRCS SSURGO survey, read at each member county’s own record and weighted to this footprint by land area. Where a member carries no record of its own, it is absent from the figure rather than filled in.
Common questions about the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
What hardiness zone is the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)?
The Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) spans USDA hardiness zones 4b-5a, aggregated from the USDA Agricultural Research Service Plant Hardiness Zone Map 2023 across the region's own towns. Zones reflect average annual extreme minimum temperatures from 1991–2020 data.
How long is the growing season in the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)?
Measured between 28°F hard freezes, the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)'s towns mostly run 151 to 152 frost-free days, median 151 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991–2020, over 6 member towns). That 1-day spread is the honest read — no single season describes 6 towns, and each town guide below carries its own.
When does frost risk end in the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)?
Across the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton), the middle half of member towns see their last 28°F hard freeze between May 4 and May 6 (median May 5), and their first fall freeze between Oct 3 and Oct 4. Those are hard freezes, not the last light frost: tender transplants wait for about May 26, and elevation decides which end of a 2-day spread you garden in.
What grows well in the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)?
The Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)'s conditions suit plants such as Potato, Rhubarb, Chokecherry, Indian Paintbrush, Cottonwood. What actually thrives on any one site still turns on its specific soil, sun, and drainage — we score each plant against the real conditions at your address.
How is the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) defined?
The Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) is a true microclimate — smaller than the county that contains it, with a growing reality of its own. So this page is built from the region's own 6 towns, each carrying its own hardiness zone and frost record, rather than from a county average measured somewhere else.
Which states does the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) cover?
The Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton) spans Wyoming. Each state's full growing guide is linked on this page.
What other growing regions cover the same states?
High Plains, Bighorn Basin, Jackson Hole & Teton Valley, and Star Valley share at least one state with the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton). Growing regions overlap and interlock — a single address can sit inside more than one, which is why the precise read is always the parcel, not the region.
What this page reads at the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)’s own scale
6 of the readings below were taken at the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)'s own scale — the zone 4b-5a band across its footprint, a median 151-day season across its 6 towns and 821 documented federal contamination records across its one county, 821 of them in Fremont County alone; one is borrowed from a wider read, named and linked below.
Measured here
- The USDA hardiness band 4b-5a aggregated across all 6 towns in the footprintUSDA PHZM 2023
- The boundary itself — the 6 towns this region is curated fromGrowable Ground subregion registry
- The growing character that makes this region distinct from the states it crossesGrowable Ground subregion registry
- The 28°F season across the footprint — the middle half of its 6 towns run 151 to 152 frost-free days, median 151NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020
- The federal contamination record over the whole footprint — 821 documented federal contamination records across its one county, 821 of them in Fremont County aloneEPA, USGS and USDA federal site records
- The soil order mix across the footprint — 42% Aridisols, topsoil pH 7.2–8.2, area-weighted across its one mapped countyUSDA NRCS SSURGO
Inherited from a wider read
- The candidate plant list — its state's curated sets, merged and filtered to zones 4b-5afrom Wyoming
What this page can’t tell you
- Which end of the 1-day range your ground sits at — 151 days at one extreme, 152 at the other, decided mostly by elevationfrost dates explained →
- Which of those soils your own ground sits on — the survey maps them county-wide, and they change across a drivewaysoil types explained →
- The soil pH, drainage, sun hours, and frost pockets on one specific lotwhy one lot differs from the next →
Explore the Wind River Basin (Lander–Riverton)
State growing guides
Towns in this region
The county containing this region
Other growing regions across Wyoming
A semi-arid shortgrass tableland of deep soils and big sky, where wind, low rainfall, and irrigation shape dryland wheat, sorghum, and resilient gardens.
Wyoming's warmest, longest-season ground sits in a rain-shadow desert, not on a mountainside. The Bighorn Basin runs 117–166 frost-free days in USDA zones 4b–5a at about 4,000–4,500 ft — the irrigated basin floor holds the long end of that range and the mountain rim the short one, and the middle of it still runs 30 to 90 days longer than the ranges that wall it in. What grows here is a fundamentally irrigated story: Bighorn- and Shoshone-river water turns a semi-arid valley into Wyoming's commercial sugar-beet, dry-bean (pinto), malting-barley and alfalfa country. Plan for cold high-desert swings and irrigation, not high-plains dryland.
Two high valleys astride the Tetons where summer frost is never truly off the table — a 4a-6a band and a roughly 99-131-day window that make cold-hardy, fast, and season-extended the entire playbook.
A high mountain valley on the Idaho line — twelve towns of 4b-5a hay-and-garden ground with a 106-128-day frost window; short, bright, honest mountain gardening in the valley the Mormon settlers called the Star of all valleys.