community in Colorado
Honey bee forage in Upper Witter Gulch, Colorado
Estimated forage here is better than about 45% of sites in Colorado. Against other Colorado sites it stands out most in summer (65th percentile) and lowest in spring (32nd). 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 Upper Witter Gulch?
- First forage: Apr 1 (willows, dandelion)
- Main flow: Jun 1 to Aug 31, peaking late Jun (huckleberries, snowberry, summer-flowering shrubs)
- Season ends: Oct 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Upper Witter Gulch, 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 10.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): willows, dandelion, huckleberries, clovers: white, alsike and red; amber, likely to set within weeks to a few months
- Summer honey (July and August): snowberry, summer-flowering shrubs, huckleberries, clovers: white, alsike and red; extra light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
- Fall honey (September to November): fireweed, snowberry, spotted and diffuse knapweed, dandelion; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Whole season (March to November): snowberry, huckleberries, willows, 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 Upper Witter Gulch
Mostly: Rocky Mountain Lodgepole Pine Forest; Southern Rocky Mountain Ponderosa Pine 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 SW; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.1 mi E.
How Upper Witter Gulch ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 33rd | 19th | 69th | 71st |
| Colorado | 45th | 32nd | 65th | 45th |
| Southern Rockies | 54th | 57th | 57th | 49th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 48% 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 Upper Witter Gulch: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Echo Hills 1 mi · Pine Valley 2 mi · Upper Bear Creek 3 mi · Floyd Hill 4 mi · Blue Valley 4 mi · Evergreen 5 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 Upper Witter Gulch (39.6611, -105.4268); 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.