High Mountain Beekeeping
🐝 How to Keep Bees at Elevation
Keeping bees at high altitude is a beautiful and rewarding challenge. The mountain air is crisp, the wildflowers are abundant, and the relationship you build with your bees can become a deeply grounding part of seasonal living. But with cooler temperatures, shorter bloom windows, and unpredictable weather, beekeeping in the mountains requires a few special considerations.
🌼 Choose the Right Location
At higher elevations, sunlight and wind exposure make a big difference.
Face hives toward the southeast to catch the morning sun.
Shelter them from strong winds with trees, fences, or a natural hillside.
Keep hives off the ground using sturdy hive stands to reduce cold and moisture.
🌸 Support Foraging
Mountain bees have a shorter season to gather nectar and pollen.
Plant extra bee-friendly flowers like echinacea, bee balm, yarrow, and clover.
Avoid pesticides in your garden or surrounding areas.
Consider placing hives near wildflower meadows or known bloom-rich areas.
❄️ Winter Prep is Essential
Long winters and cold nights mean bees need strong insulation and food stores.
Wrap your hive in breathable insulation if winters are harsh.
Leave plenty of honey in the hive—more than lowland beekeepers would.
Add a ventilation system to reduce moisture buildup inside the hive.
🐝 Bee Breeds Matter
Some honeybee breeds are more cold-hardy than others.
Carniolan bees are known to be gentle, resilient, and thrive in cooler climates.
Russian bees also tolerate cold well and are naturally mite-resistant.
🐻 Bear Safety & Feeding Practices
Living in the mountains means sharing the land with bears and other curious wildlife. Bears have an incredibly strong sense of smell and are highly attracted to the scent of honey and brood. Without proper protection, they can destroy an entire hive overnight.
Protect Your Hives:
Install an electric fence around your apiary—this is the most effective deterrent.
Use a solar-powered or battery-operated electric fence specifically rated for bears.
Position the fence at least 3 feet from the hives and maintain vegetation around it to avoid shorting.
Keep any wax scraps, feeders, or honey containers far from the hives and securely sealed.
Keeping bears out not only protects your bees—it protects the bears too, by preventing them from associating human spaces with food.
🍯 Feeding Your Bees with Organic Honey
Feeding is sometimes necessary at high altitudes—especially after long winters or during a cold spring when forage is limited.
While sugar syrup is commonly used, feeding bees their own honey (or clean, local organic honey) is more aligned with natural beekeeping values.
Tips for Feeding:
Only feed when flowers are scarce or hives are light going into winter.
Use organic, unheated honey to avoid contamination or disease.
Feed inside the hive to avoid attracting predators or robbing behavior.
Feeding your bees mindfully supports their resilience through the unpredictable rhythms of mountain life.
🧺 A Relationship with Rhythm
Beekeeping at altitude teaches you patience and observation. Your bees move with the wildflowers, the weather, and the wind. By tending to them with care, you also deepen your connection to the mountain's seasons and cycles.
Whether you're just getting started or already have a hive humming, high mountain beekeeping is a meaningful way to support pollinators, grow local abundance, and sweeten the land you call home.
