Honey bee forage in Marblemount, Washington

When is the honey flow in Marblemount?

• First forage: Mar 1 (willows, dandelion, early trees (maple, willow, poplar))
• Main flow: Apr 1 to Jul 15, peaking late May (summer-flowering shrubs, maples, huckleberries)
• Season ends: Aug 31

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Marblemount, 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 8.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): summer-flowering shrubs, maples, huckleberries, himalayan blackberry; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
• Summer honey (July and August): summer-flowering shrubs, huckleberries, himalayan blackberry, clovers: white, alsike and red; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time
• Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, spotted and diffuse knapweed, garden flowers; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Whole season (March to November): summer-flowering shrubs, maples, huckleberries, himalayan blackberry; light amber, likely to stay liquid a long time

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

Bee crops within flight range

• Clover and wildflowers: about 2 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.3 mi SE, blooms early May – early Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Grapes: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 0.2 mi SW, blooms early Jun – early Jul
• Blueberries: about 1 acres in a typical year, nearest 2 mi NE, blooms late Apr – late 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 Marblemount

Mostly: North Pacific Mesic Western Hemlock-Silver Fir Forest; North Pacific Hypermaritime Western Red-cedar-Western Hemlock Forest; North Pacific Lowland Riparian Forest.

Nearest mapped water: creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.04 mi W; mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.12 mi NE.

Things to watch

• Bee crops nearby that are often sprayed. 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); Blueberries: insecticides used on about 91% of acres in Washington (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 Marblemount ranks

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

About 83% 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

Rockport 9 mi · Concrete 14 mi · Darrington 21 mi · Swede Heaven 22 mi · Hamilton 25 mi · Oso 28 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 Marblemount (48.5418, -121.4396); 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.