town in Colorado
Honey bee forage in Hooper, Colorado
Estimated forage here is better than about 68% of sites in Colorado. Spring, summer and fall all rank about the same against other Colorado sites. Biggest nearby bee crops: canola (nearest 0.7 mi E, grown 1 of the last 5 years); alfalfa (nearest 0.4 mi SE, grown 2 of the last 5 years); mustard (nearest 1.4 mi W, grown 1 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Hooper?
- First forage: Mar 16 (willows, dandelion, weedy mustards)
- Main flow: Apr 16 to Sep 15, peaking late May (alfalfa, dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red)
- Season ends: Oct 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Hooper, 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 22.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), willows; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): alfalfa, spotted and diffuse knapweed, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Fall honey (September to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, alfalfa, yellow starthistle, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Whole season (March to November): alfalfa, dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard); extra 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
- Canola: about 6 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi E, blooms late Jun – early Aug (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
- Alfalfa: about 54 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 2 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 Hooper
Mostly: Inter-Mountain Basins Greasewood Flat; Potatoes; Great Basin & Intermountain Introduced Annual and Biennial Forbland.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.2 mi N; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.26 mi SE.
How Hooper ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 45th | 42nd | 65th | 82nd |
| Colorado | 68th | 65th | 57th | 66th |
| Arizona/New Mexico Plateau | 96th | 87th | 97th | 81st |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 41% 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 Hooper: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Center 13 mi · Moffat 18 mi · Alamosa East 19 mi · Alamosa 19 mi · Monte Vista 19 mi · Crestone 20 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 Hooper (37.746, -105.8777); 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.