town in Colorado
Honey bee forage in Oak Creek, Colorado
Estimated forage here is better than about 99% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it stands out most in summer (99th percentile) and lowest in spring (71st). Biggest nearby bee crops: alfalfa (nearest 2.4 mi S, grown 3 of the last 5 years).
When is the honey flow in Oak Creek?
- First forage: Apr 1 (dandelion, willows)
- Main flow: May 16 to Aug 15, peaking early Jun (clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs, snowberry)
- Fall flow: Sep 1 to Sep 30 (snowberry, spotted and diffuse knapweed, summer-flowering shrubs)
- Season ends: Oct 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Oak Creek, 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 Jun 4.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, spring-flowering shrubs, willows; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): snowberry, summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, spotted and diffuse knapweed; extra light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
- Fall honey (September to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, snowberry, clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, snowberry, summer-flowering shrubs, dandelion; 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 4 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi S, blooms late Jul – late 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 Oak Creek
Mostly: Rocky Mountain Aspen Forest and Woodland; Rocky Mountain Gambel Oak-Mixed Montane Shrubland; Inter-Mountain Basins Montane Sagebrush Steppe.
Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.13 mi W; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.18 mi E.
How Oak Creek ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 82nd | 44th | 87th | 95th |
| Colorado | 99th | 71st | 99th | 93rd |
| Southern Rockies | 100th | 97th | 100th | 90th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 64% 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 Oak Creek: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Phippsburg 3 mi · Yampa 9 mi · Steamboat Springs 16 mi · Hayden 22 mi · McCoy 28 mi · Kremmling 34 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 Oak Creek (40.274, -106.9576); 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.