Honey bee forage in Bingen, Washington

When is the honey flow in Bingen?

• First forage: Feb 16 (dandelion, willows, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Mar 16 to Jun 30, peaking late Apr (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, snowberry)
• Fall flow: Jul 16 to Aug 15 (spotted and diffuse knapweed, snowberry, clovers: white, alsike and red)
• Season ends: Sep 30

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Bingen, 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 19.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, snowberry, maples; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Summer honey (July and August): spotted and diffuse knapweed, snowberry, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Fall honey (September to November): garden flowers, spotted and diffuse knapweed, clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion; light amber, mixed: part of it sets quickly, part stays liquid
• Whole season (March to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, snowberry, spotted and diffuse knapweed; 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 1,583 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.7 mi SW, blooms early Apr – late Apr
• Cherries: about 7 acres in a typical year, nearest 1.8 mi SW, blooms late Mar – late Apr

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 Bingen

Mostly: East Cascades Ponderosa Pine Forest and Woodland; Open water; East Cascades Mesic Montane Mixed-Conifer Forest and Woodland.

Nearest mapped water: pond, lake or river 0.04 mi W; open water 0.06 mi W.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. Pears: insecticides used on about 69% of acres in Washington (2025); Cherries, sweet: insecticides used on about 93% of acres in Washington (2025); Cherries, tart: insecticides used on about 45% of surveyed US acres (2025); Grapes (all types): insecticides used on about 34% of acres in Washington (2025); Grapes, wine type: insecticides used on about 34% of acres in Washington (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 Bingen ranks

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

Nearby

White Salmon 1 mi · Lyle 9 mi · Dallesport 16 mi · Klickitat 17 mi · Carson 17 mi · Trout Lake 20 mi

All towns in Washington · 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 Bingen (45.7131, -121.4718); 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.