A Blacktailed Rattlesnake we found on a late night hike of a canyon near Phoenix, Arizona. These are common snakes in mountainous regions, often seen by hikers. During the summer in desert areas, they are often most often nocturnal, usually encountered around sunup and just after dark. This one, fortunately, lives far from where people may come across it on accident.
A Blacktailed Rattlesnake was seen on a late-night hike near Phoenix, Arizona. These snakes are found in any of the regional parks around Phoenix and Tucson. Interestingly, they are missing, however, from the mountains of central Phoenix, with no records that indicate they were ever there.
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake making it difficult to tell where snake ends and rock begins.
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake as they typically appear around Camelback Mountain in central Phoenix. It’s a surprise to many that multiple species of rattlesnakes are still present within a heavily populated urban area, but they continue to thrive there. Excessive heat from a surrounding sea of pavement makes life difficult in the summer, however, which often leads to encounters at adjacent homes with rattlesnakes looking to cool off in the lawns and citrus oasis of Paradise Valley.
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake looking just like a chunk of granite, fallen off the overhead outcrop. As the sun gets lower in the sky, a variety of rodents, birds, and lizards do what they do in surrounding bushes and rocks, oblivious to the invisible predator. To hikers on the mountain, they’re often just as cryptic, remaining hidden as hundreds of feet pass by every Saturday on popular trails.
A Tiger Rattlesnake from the Phoenix area. These snakes are common in the right conditions, but rarely seen by hikers. One reason: they tend to be more nocturnal than similar species. While they can certainly be found in the daytime, they’re often the first to head in for the day. This one had been out all night near its aestivation den in the hottest time of summer.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake on the move late at night in Phoenix. These snakes are the most commonly encountered snake on many trails in the area. For the reasons you can see here, and others, these snakes are quite often misidentified as Tiger Rattlesnakes when people see them. At popular trails like Piestewa (not where this one was), they’re seen about every night, even on very busy paths. But, contrary to how people often think of rattlesnakes: bites are nearly unheard of in those situations.
A red-hued Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake from Phoenix, Arizona. Its red coloration is typical of the local phenotype, which may include many variations of reds, orange, purple, and all shades in between.
These snakes are common in popular hiking areas, but are not an issue for people. Considering the hundreds of people that visit area trailheads each weekend during the peak of these animals’ activity, bites are incredibly uncommon. Hikers can keep that status by staying on trails, not wearing headphones or texting while walking, and keeping dogs on leash (it’s the law, too).
Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes are the most common rattlesnake in the Phoenix and Tucson areas, and likely the most encountered snake overall. This isn’t necessarily due to abundance alone – they’re large, noticeable, and can be noisy. This one, however, thought it wasn’t seen, and remained in this coil in wash sand until after I left.
A female Western Diamondback Rattlesnake pausing on a bit near a large bush where she likely lives. These are the most common rattlesnake, if not snake, seen by hikers and homeowners in the Phoenix area.
