community in Colorado
Honey bee forage in Cotopaxi, Colorado
Estimated forage here is better than about 11% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it ranks highest in spring (45th percentile) and lowest in summer (8th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.9 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Cotopaxi?
- First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, native wildflowers, spring-flowering shrubs)
- Main flow: May 1 to Jul 15, peaking early May (spring-flowering shrubs, summer-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers)
- Fall flow: Aug 1 to Aug 31 (rabbitbrush, summer-flowering shrubs, green/yellow rabbitbrush)
- Season ends: Oct 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Cotopaxi, from what grows within flight range (about 3.7 miles) and when it blooms here. Dates are the model's estimate for a typical year; the spring index for this spot falls on May 8.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): spring-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers, summer-flowering shrubs, dandelion; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): summer-flowering shrubs, rabbitbrush, native wildflowers, green/yellow rabbitbrush; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
- Fall honey (September to November): rabbitbrush, green/yellow rabbitbrush, rubber rabbitbrush, asters; dark amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Whole season (March to November): spring-flowering shrubs, summer-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers, rabbitbrush; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.
Bee crops within flight range
- Alfalfa: about 45 acres in a typical year, nearest 3 mi SW, blooms late Jun – late Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
From USDA's crop maps for 2021–2025; fields rotate, so a crop counts by how often it was grown. Listing a field says nothing about its owner.
The land and water around Cotopaxi
Mostly: Southern Rocky Mountain Pinyon-Juniper Woodland; Inter-Mountain Basins Semi-Desert Shrub-Steppe; Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine Woodland.
Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.04 mi SE; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.04 mi S.
How Cotopaxi ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 11th | 31st | 28th | 55th |
| Colorado | 11th | 45th | 8th | 21st |
| Southern Rockies | 15th | 79th | 5th | 25th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 80% of the land here is scored with national averages for its vegetation type rather than measured plant cover, so the wild-plant part of this estimate is rougher than the crop part.
The national forage map around Cotopaxi: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Coaldale 7 mi · Howard 9 mi · Salida 20 mi · Westcliffe 20 mi · Smeltertown 21 mi · Silver Cliff 23 mi
All towns in Colorado · National map · How the scoring works
An estimate from public maps (USDA crop maps 2021–2025 averaged, LANDFIRE vegetation), not a survey of the ground. Maps can't see garden plantings, understory density, other beekeepers' hives, or this year's weather. The point is the Census Bureau's published center of Cotopaxi (38.3728, -105.6855); a yard a mile or two away can differ, so check your own spot. The FEMA flood map was not checked for this page. Benchmark 2026.5, built 2026-10-19. How this works · All sources.