Honey bee forage in Park Ridge, Wisconsin

When is the honey flow in Park Ridge?

• First forage: Mar 16 (dandelion)
• Main flow: Apr 16 to Jul 31, peaking late May (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion)
• Fall flow: Aug 16 to Sep 30 (clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers)
• Season ends: Oct 15

Forage available to a colony through the year at the center of Park Ridge, 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 17.

What the honey is made of

• Spring honey (March to June): dandelion, clovers: white, alsike and red, garden flowers, lindens / basswood; 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; extra light amber, likely to set over some months
• Fall honey (September to November): clovers: white, alsike and red, dandelion, garden flowers, 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, garden flowers, summer-flowering shrubs; extra 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

• Corn: about 598 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi E, blooms late Jul – late Aug (grown 3 of the last 5 years)
• Dry beans: about 155 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SE, blooms late Jul – late Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Sunflower: about 11 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.4 mi SE, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 1 of the last 5 years)
• Soybeans: about 85 acres in a typical year, nearest 2.8 mi E, blooms early Jul – early Sep (grown 4 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 Park Ridge

Mostly: Developed, low intensity (houses and yards); Developed, open space (parks, large lots, lawns); Open water.

Nearest mapped water: mapped stream or canal (may be dry in late summer) 0.28 mi E; creek, wetland or wet meadow 0.28 mi SE.

Things to watch

• Heavily developed. About 81% 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. Sweet Corn: insecticides used on about 44% of surveyed US acres (2024). 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 Park Ridge ranks

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

Nearby

Stevens Point 0 mi · Whiting 2 mi · Plover 4 mi · Polonia 8 mi · Amherst Junction 12 mi · Nelsonville 12 mi

All towns in Wisconsin · 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 Park Ridge (44.52, -89.5463); 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.