In the northern part of its distribution, this species can be found in Douglas-fir/maple forests and forest clearings. In coastal areas, it inhabits redwood forest, chaparral, oak woodland, canyons. In the Sierra Nevada, habitats include pine-oak-incense cedar forests. In dry or cold weather, these salamanders stay in caves, underground, or in or under rotting logs. Eggs are laid underground, or under the bark of or within rotting logs (Stebbins 2003), where they develop directly without a larval stage. The subspecies Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi lives in mixed conifer forest and lays its eggs on the ground. It is unclear as to whether or not it is tolerant of habitat disturbance.

This species occurs from southwestern British Columbia in Canada, south through the Coastal Ranges of the United States of America to extreme northwestern Baja California and the Sierra San Pedro Martir and Sierra Juárez in Mexico (Mahrdt et al. 1998, Stebbins 2003; D. Frost pers. comm. 2014, A. Peralta-García pers. comm. 2014); and along the western slopes of Cascade Range and Sierra Nevada in California in the USA. It is absent from Sacramento-San Joaquin valley, California (Moritz et al. 1992). It occurs as a large number of subspecies. It occurs at elevations between sea level and about 3,350 m asl (Stebbins 2003).

Conservation Actions
It occurs in many protected areas, which are thought to provide protection for 31–40% of the population. The subspecies Ensatina eschscholtzii klauberi occurs in the Sierra San Pedro Martir National Park in Mexico. This species is protected by Mexican law under the "Special Protection" category (Pr).