Honey bee forage in Gold Hill, Oregon

When is the honey flow in Gold Hill?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), maples)
• Main flow: Mar 1 to Jun 15, peaking early Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard))
• Season ends: Aug 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Gold Hill, 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 5.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), snowberry; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), dandelion, garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster), spotted and diffuse knapweed; amber
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, roadside weeds (clover, dandelion, sweet clover, mustard), snowberry; extra light amber, likely to set over some months

Nectar-source estimate (plants weighted by how much bees favor them), not a pollen analysis. Full honey estimate.

Bee crops within flight range

• Grapes: about 180 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.6 mi W, blooms early May – early Jun

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 Gold Hill

Mostly: North Pacific Oak Woodland; Mediterranean California Lower Montane Conifer Forest and Woodland; Mediterranean California Mixed Evergreen Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.02 mi S; pond, lake or river 0.32 mi S.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 58% of surveyed US acres (2021); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 56% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, table type: insecticides used on about 50% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes, raisin type: insecticides used on about 77% 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 Gold Hill ranks

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

About 62% 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

Foots Creek 6 mi · Rogue River 6 mi · Central Point 8 mi · Wimer 9 mi · Jacksonville 10 mi · White City 11 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 Gold Hill (42.4358, -123.0526); 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.