town in Colorado
Honey bee forage in Crestone, Colorado
Estimated forage here is better than about 23% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it ranks highest in fall (47th percentile) and lowest in summer (26th). Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer), less than 0.1 mi away.
When is the honey flow in Crestone?
- First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar), weedy mustards)
- Main flow: May 1 to Aug 15, peaking late May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, spring-flowering shrubs)
- Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 30 (green/yellow rabbitbrush, rabbitbrush, spotted and diffuse knapweed)
- Season ends: Oct 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Crestone, 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 21.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, spring-flowering shrubs, native wildflowers; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, native wildflowers, spotted and diffuse knapweed; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Fall honey (September to November): green/yellow rabbitbrush, rabbitbrush, asters, spotted and diffuse knapweed; amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Whole season (March to November): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, spring-flowering shrubs, summer-flowering shrubs; 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
No rated bee crops within about 3.7 miles of the town center. The forage here is wild plants, trees and gardens.
The land and water around Crestone
Mostly: Inter-Mountain Basins Semi-Desert Shrub-Steppe; Southern Rocky Mountain Pinyon-Juniper Woodland; Southern Rocky Mountain Dry-Mesic Montane Mixed Conifer Forest and Woodland.
Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.07 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.15 mi N.
How Crestone ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 20th | 31st | 45th | 72nd |
| Colorado | 23rd | 45th | 26th | 47th |
| Southern Rockies | 32nd | 79th | 20th | 50th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 66% 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 Crestone: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Moffat 12 mi · Westcliffe 16 mi · Silver Cliff 19 mi · Hooper 20 mi · Saguache 25 mi · Coaldale 26 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 Crestone (37.9945, -105.6962); 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.