Honey bee forage in Columbia City, Oregon

When is the honey flow in Columbia City?

• First forage: Feb 1 (dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15, peaking early Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs, dandelion)
• Season ends: Aug 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Columbia City, 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 Apr 6.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, maples; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, summer-flowering shrubs, dandelion, garden flowers; extra light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), spotted and diffuse knapweed; amber
• Whole season (March to November): summer-flowering shrubs, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, maples; 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

• Blueberries: about 141 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.9 mi E, blooms late Mar – late Apr
• Caneberries: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.1 mi E, blooms late Feb – late Jun
• Peas: about 3 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.8 mi NE, blooms early Apr – late May (grown 1 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 Columbia City

Mostly: Open water; Western Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; North Pacific Maritime Dry-Mesic Douglas-fir-Western Hemlock Forest.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.06 mi E; open water 0.06 mi E.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Blueberries: insecticides used on about 74% of surveyed US acres (2025); Caneberries: raspberries: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Caneberries: blackberries: insecticides used on about 60% of surveyed US acres (2017); Peaches: insecticides used on about 86% of surveyed US acres (2025); Strawberries: insecticides used on about 96% of surveyed US acres (2025). Figures are from USDA's Agricultural Chemical Use Survey, matched by crop type from the crop map. The survey counts any insecticide use in the crop year (not seed treatments) and doesn't say when; ask nearby growers about spray timing.

How Columbia City ranks

Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.

About 31% 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.

Nearby

Deer Island 3 mi · St. Helens 3 mi · Warren 7 mi · Scappoose 10 mi · Prescott 11 mi · Rainier 13 mi

All towns in Oregon · 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 Columbia City (45.8991, -122.8122); 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.