Snakes in Utah
Utah has 28 snake species on record, each with at least 10 GBIF records in the state, and 3,323 licensed records in all. The most recorded are the western terrestrial garter snake, the gopher snake and the western rattlesnake. Five of them are venomous.
Rattlesnakes in Utah
Rattlesnakes: five species are listed for Utah, with 546 records (16% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the western rattlesnake (427), ahead of the prairie rattlesnake (102).
Observation records of the western rattlesnake in Utah run mostly May through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Washington County, San Juan County and Salt Lake County. Most licensed records of the prairie rattlesnake in Utah come from San Juan County, Grand County and Washington County.
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes in Utah
Garter snakes and ribbon snakes dominate the snake record of Utah: four species and 39% of all records. The most recorded is the western terrestrial garter snake (1,224), ahead of the common garter snake (57).
Observation records of the western terrestrial garter snake in Utah run mostly April through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Utah County, Salt Lake County and San Juan County. Most licensed records of the common garter snake in Utah come from Davis County, Utah County and Box Elder County.
Rat snakes and corn snakes in Utah
One species of this group is listed for Utah: the Great Plains rat snake, with 1 record (under 0.1% of the state's snake records).
Kingsnakes and milksnakes in Utah
Kingsnakes and milksnakes are a small part of the snake record here: four species with 3% of records between them. The most recorded is the California kingsnake (43), ahead of the eastern milksnake (22).
Most licensed records of the California kingsnake in Utah come from Washington County, Kane County and Emery County.
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes in Utah
Racers, whipsnakes and indigo snakes: four species are listed for Utah, with 617 records (19% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the eastern racer (347), ahead of the striped whipsnake (227).
Observation records of the eastern racer in Utah run mostly May through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Salt Lake County, Tooele County and Utah County. Observation records of the striped whipsnake in Utah run mostly April through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Tooele County, Washington County and San Juan County. Most licensed records of the coachwhip in Utah come from Washington County and Salt Lake County.
Gopher snakes, bullsnakes and pine snakes in Utah
One species of this group is listed for Utah: the gopher snake, with 505 records (15% of the state's snake records).
Observation records of the gopher snake in Utah run mostly April through September, peaking in May; most licensed records come from Salt Lake County, Tooele County and Washington County.
Green snakes in Utah
One species of this group is listed for Utah: the smooth green snake, with 17 records (0.5% of the state's snake records).
Small woodland and burrowing snakes in Utah
Small woodland and burrowing snakes: seven species are listed for Utah, with 145 records (4% of the state's snake records). The most recorded is the desert nightsnake (50), ahead of the western ground snake (27).
Most licensed records of the desert nightsnake in Utah come from Utah County, Tooele County and Garfield County.
Boas and pythons in Utah
One species of this group is listed for Utah: the northern rubber boa, with 49 records (1% of the state's snake records).
Most licensed records of the northern rubber boa in Utah come from Salt Lake County, Utah County and Weber County.
Where in Utah are snakes recorded most?
Salt Lake County leads with 492 records (15%), followed by Washington County and Utah County; the top five counties hold 55% of the total. 29 of Utah's 29 counties have at least one licensed snake record.
| # | County | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salt Lake County | 492 | 14.8% |
| 2 | Washington County | 405 | 12.2% |
| 3 | Utah County | 372 | 11.2% |
| 4 | Tooele County | 309 | 9.3% |
| 5 | San Juan County | 255 | 7.7% |
| 6 | Grand County | 194 | 5.8% |
| 7 | Garfield County | 158 | 4.8% |
| 8 | Millard County | 140 | 4.2% |
| 9 | Sanpete County | 118 | 3.6% |
| 10 | Kane County | 102 | 3.1% |
| 11 | Uintah County | 102 | 3.1% |
| 12 | Davis County | 98 | 2.9% |
When do snakes come out in Utah?
Observation records of snakes in Utah run mostly April through September, peaking in May with 28% of them. December through February together hold under 2% of the records, so snakes in Utah are rarely recorded in winter. The sharpest rise comes from April to May.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | 0% | 2% | 9% | 28% | 18% | 17% | 12% | 9% | 4% | 1% | 0% |
Snakes: Utah compared with its neighbors
Utah ranks 20th of 50 states by the number of snake species listed; Texas leads with 86 species.
Of the six states bordering Utah, Arizona and New Mexico list more snake species (Utah: 28 species; Arizona 60, New Mexico 56, Nevada 27, Colorado 26, Idaho 11, Wyoming 11).
What snakes are in Utah? All 28 species
Ranked by licensed records in Utah. Species with a profile page are linked.
| # | Species | Family | Records | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western terrestrial garter snake Thamnophis elegans | Colubridae | 1,224 | 36.8% |
| 2 | Gopher snake Pituophis catenifer | Colubridae | 505 | 15.2% |
| 3 | Western rattlesnake venomous Crotalus oreganus | Viperidae | 427 | 12.8% |
| 4 | Eastern racer Coluber constrictor | Colubridae | 347 | 10.4% |
| 5 | Striped whipsnake Masticophis taeniatus | Colubridae | 227 | 6.8% |
| 6 | Prairie rattlesnake venomous Crotalus viridis | Viperidae | 102 | 3.1% |
| 7 | Common garter snake Thamnophis sirtalis | Colubridae | 57 | 1.7% |
| 8 | Desert nightsnake Hypsiglena chlorophaea | Colubridae | 50 | 1.5% |
| 9 | Northern rubber boa Charina bottae | Boidae | 49 | 1.5% |
| 10 | California kingsnake Lampropeltis californiae | Colubridae | 43 | 1.3% |
| 11 | Coachwhip Masticophis flagellum | Colubridae | 31 | 0.9% |
| 12 | Western ground snake Sonora semiannulata | Colubridae | 27 | 0.8% |
| 13 | Eastern milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum | Colubridae | 22 | 0.7% |
| 14 | Ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus | Colubridae | 21 | 0.6% |
| 15 | Glossy snake Arizona elegans | Colubridae | 17 | 0.5% |
| 16 | Long-nosed snake Rhinocheilus lecontei | Colubridae | 17 | 0.5% |
| 17 | Smooth green snake Opheodrys vernalis | Colubridae | 17 | 0.5% |
| 18 | Western aquatic garter snake Thamnophis couchii | Colubridae | 16 | 0.5% |
| 19 | Sidewinder venomous Crotalus cerastes | Viperidae | 14 | 0.4% |
| 20 | Sonoran mountain kingsnake Lampropeltis pyromelana | Colubridae | 13 | 0.4% |
| 21 | Blackneck garter snake Thamnophis cyrtopsis | Colubridae | 12 | 0.4% |
| 22 | Western patch-nosed snake Salvadora hexalepis | Colubridae | 12 | 0.4% |
| 23 | Central plains milksnake Lampropeltis gentilis | Colubridae | 8 | 0.2% |
| 24 | Southwestern blackhead snake Tantilla hobartsmithi | Colubridae | 8 | 0.2% |
| 25 | Sonoran lyre snake Trimorphodon lambda | Colubridae | 5 | 0.2% |
| 26 | Mohave rattlesnake venomous Crotalus scutulatus | Viperidae | 2 | 0.1% |
| 27 | Great Plains rat snake Pantherophis emoryi | Colubridae | 1 | 0.0% |
| 28 | Southwestern speckled rattlesnake venomous Crotalus pyrrhus | Viperidae | 1 | 0.0% |
Also recorded in Utah, fewer than 10 times
Beyond the main list, four snake species are known from Utah by only 3 to 9 records each. Some are genuine rarities at the edge of their range; others may be strays, released pets or old misidentifications, so treat them as unconfirmed.
Related pages
GBIF records read 2026-09-29. Listed: any license. Counted: CC0/CC BY only. How we count.