Honey bee forage in St. Helens, Oregon

When is the honey flow in St. Helens?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, maples)
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30, peaking late Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of St. Helens, 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 15.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs, maples; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, summer-flowering shrubs; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, fall wildflowers (goldenrod, aster); light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, summer-flowering shrubs, garden flowers; 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 2.9 mi NE, blooms early Apr – early May
• Caneberries: about 55 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.6 mi NE, blooms early Mar – early Jul
• Peas: about 12 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.1 mi E, blooms late Apr – early Jun (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 St. Helens

Mostly: Open water; Western Cool Temperate Pasture and Hayland; North Pacific Lowland Riparian Forest.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.11 mi W; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.13 mi SW.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 82% of the land within a mile is developed. Less room for forage, and more neighbors near the hives.
• 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). 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 St. Helens ranks

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

Nearby

Columbia City 3 mi · Warren 4 mi · Deer Island 6 mi · Scappoose 7 mi · Prescott 14 mi · Rainier 16 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 St. Helens (45.8563, -122.8172); 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.