This snake generally inhabits open desert terrain with fine windblown sand, desert flats with sandy washes, or sand dunes sparsely vegetated with creosote bush or mesquite; sometimes it occurs in rocky or gravelly sites (Lowe et al. 1986, Ernst and Ernst 2003, Stebbins 2003, Campbell and Lamar 2004). In the Mojave Desert, snakes concentrated near washes and areas of relatively dense vegetation where mammal burrows were common (Brown and Lillywhite 1992), though in other areas this snake has been found to be more common where vegetation is sparse. During the daytime inactive period, individuals retreat into underground burrows or under bushes, or, at the end of activity at night, snuggle into sand with a minimum of the body exposed, remaining partially buried through daylight until conditions become too hot (then seeking shade) (Brown and Lillywhite 1992). Hibernation sites are in in burrows of rodents or tortoises (Secor cited by Ernst 1992, Brown and Lillywhite 1992). In the eastern Mojave Desert, sidewinders hibernated in rodent burrows at the sand-alluvium interface (Secor 1994). This terrestrial snake rarely climbs into vegetation.

This species' range extends from southeastern California, southern Nevada, and extreme southwestern Utah, south through southwestern Arizona in the United States, to northeastern Baja California and northwestern Sonora, and Isla Tiburon, in Mexico (Grismer 2002, Stebbins 2003, Campbell and Lamar 2004). In Sonora, this species occurs north and west of the Nogales-Hermosillo-Guaymas highway, with the heaviest concentration in the Desierto de Altar (Armstrong and Murphy 1979). The elevational range extends from below sea level to about 6,000 feet (1,830 m asl) (Stebbins 2003), but most localities are below 1,200 m asl (Campbell and Lamar 2004).

Several to many occurrences of this species are in protected areas.