town in Colorado
Honey bee forage in Moffat, Colorado
Estimated forage here is better than about 80% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it stands out most in spring (93rd percentile) and lowest in summer (56th). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 1.3 mi N, grown 3 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Moffat?
- First forage: Mar 16 (willows, dandelion)
- Main flow: Apr 16 to Aug 15, peaking late May (willows, native wildflowers, dandelion)
- Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 15 (yellow starthistle, spotted and diffuse knapweed)
- Season ends: Oct 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Moffat, 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 20.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): willows, dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, weedy mustards; amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): native wildflowers, yellow starthistle, spotted and diffuse knapweed, himalayan blackberry; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Fall honey (September to November): yellow starthistle, spotted and diffuse knapweed, green/yellow rabbitbrush, asters; light amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Whole season (March to November): willows, yellow starthistle, native wildflowers, dandelion; 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 14 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.3 mi N, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 3 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 Moffat
Mostly: Inter-Mountain Basins Semi-Desert Shrub-Steppe; Inter-Mountain Basins Greasewood Flat; Rocky Mountain Alpine-Montane Wet Meadow.
Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.11 mi SE; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.23 mi E.
How Moffat ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 54th | 56th | 64th | 83rd |
| Colorado | 80th | 93rd | 56th | 69th |
| Arizona/New Mexico Plateau | 97th | 96th | 97th | 84th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 37% 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 Moffat: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Crestone 12 mi · Saguache 14 mi · Hooper 18 mi · Center 21 mi · Bonanza 24 mi · Coaldale 25 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 Moffat (38.0057, -105.9101); 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.