community in Oregon
Honey bee forage in Mount Hood, Oregon
Estimated forage here is better than about 81% of sites in Oregon. Against other Oregon sites it stands out most in spring (84th percentile) and lowest in fall (26th). Biggest nearby bee crops: pears (nearest 0.1 mi W); cherries (right here).
When is the honey flow in Mount Hood?
- First forage: Mar 16 (maples, dandelion, willows)
- Main flow: Apr 16 to May 15, peaking late Apr (pears, cherries, maples)
- Season ends: Aug 31
Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Mount Hood, 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 5.
What the honey is made of
- Spring honey (March to June): pears, cherries, maples, snowberry; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Summer honey (July and August): snowberry, summer-flowering shrubs, spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
- Fall honey (September to November): spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
- Whole season (March to November): pears, snowberry, cherries, 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
- Pears: about 2,667 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.7 mi W, blooms late Apr – early May
- Cherries: about 23 acres in a typical year, nearest 0 mi S, blooms late Apr – early May
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 Mount Hood
Mostly: East Cascades Mesic Montane Mixed-Conifer Forest and Woodland; Pears; North Pacific Maritime Dry-Mesic Douglas-fir-Western Hemlock Forest.
Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0 mi S; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0 mi S.
Things to watch
- Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pears: insecticides used on about 77% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 84% of surveyed US acres (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% 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 Mount Hood ranks
| Against random land in | Overall | Spring | Summer | Fall |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Continental US | 87th | 98th | 64th | 28th |
| Oregon | 81st | 84th | 52nd | 26th |
| Eastern Cascades Slopes and Foothills | 98th | 100th | 45th | 5th |
Percentiles among 3,000 random land points in each region, scored the same way: land in general, not beekeepers' apiaries.
About 49% 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 Mount Hood: darker is more forage. Tap anywhere to check that exact spot.
Nearby
Parkdale 2 mi · Odell 7 mi · Hood River 12 mi · Mosier 13 mi · Rowena 17 mi · Chenoweth 17 mi
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 Mount Hood (45.5339, -121.5662); 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.