Snakes in Northern California

California is home to more than 80 species and subspecies of snakes, 34 of which can be found in the northern half of the state. The snakes in northern California range in size from a few inches to several feet in length and are mainly non-venomous. Thirty of the native species are constrictors, while the other four catch and kill their prey using venom.

  1. Large Snakes

    • Northern California is home to 11 snake species that regularly grow more than 4 feet in length. The largest native species are the California king snake and the Pacific gopher, which both grow to 7 feet in length. The California glossy snake, western yellow-bellied racer and desert striped whipsnake all grow to around 6 feet in length.The other six large species range from between 4 to 6 feet in length and include the San Joaquin coachwhip, California mountain king, long-nosed, giant garter, valley garter and California red-sided garter snakes.

    Medium-sized Snakes

    • Most of northern California's snake species range between 2 and 4 feet in length, with 16 species falling in this size range. The California striped racer, Alameda striped racer and Sierra Mountain king snake all reach around 4 feet. The northern and southern water snakes are both a little under 4 feet as are the Oregon, mountain, coast, northwestern and Sierra garter snakes. The rest of the state's medium-sized snakes range around 3 feet in length. These snakes are the Northern rubber boa, Pacific ringneck, northwestern ring-neck, coral bellied ring-neck, coast mountain king and St. Helena king.

    Small Snakes

    • Three of northern California's native species rarely grow over 2 feet in length. The smallest species is the forest sharp-tailed snake, which grows to around 11 inches. It is a subspecies of the sharp-tailed snake, which is also present in the region and grows a little larger, on average around 12 inches. The other small native species is the variable ground snake, which grows to between 4 and 18 inches in length.

    Venomous Snakes

    • Of the four venomous species found in northern California, two are considered harmless to humans, while the others are potentially deadly. The northern desert and California night snakes are both mildly venomous and capable of killing small prey with their venom, but are not dangerous to humans. The great basin rattlesnake is a large, robust snake that grows to between 15 and 65 inches and can be deadly. The northern Pacific rattlesnake is smaller, between 15 and 35 inches in length, and is also dangerous to humans.