The species' habitat includes rocky areas (rock slides, outcrops, canyon slopes, areas near cliff, stream courses), with vegetation ranging from arid tropical scrub, tropical deciduous forest, mixed boreal-tropical forest, paloverde-cactus-thorn bush associations, oak-grass savanna, and mesquite grasslands to chaparral and the pine-oak and pine-fir belts (Werler and Dixon 2000, Ernst and Ernst 2003, Stebbins 2003, Campbell and Lamar 2004). In Arizona and northern Mexico, this snake often occurs in rocky areas in pine-oak association. A population in southeastern Arizona frequented rocky areas but used arroyos (dry creeks) and creosote bush flats in late summer and autumn (fall) (Beck 1995). Other habitats include creosote bush-covered hills, grassy prairie, giant-dagger flats, and the vicinity of abandoned buildings (Tennant 1984). This species occupies a wide range of habitats in Mexico, where at the southern end of the range habitats include pine-oak, oak savanna, sweet-gum/oak forest, and mesquite grassland (Armstrong and Murphy 1979). Refuges during inactivity include rock crevices, caves, animal burrows, or wood rat houses. This snake is mostly terrestrial but sometimes climbs into trees or bushes.

The species' range extends from western, central, and southern Arizona, central and southern New Mexico, and southwestern and central Texas in the United States, south through Mexico to the southern edge of the Mexican Plateau and Mesa del Sur (Oaxaca), including Isla Tiburon in the Gulf of California, at elevations from near sea level up to around 2,930 m asl (9,600 feet) (Grismer 2002, Stebbins 2003, Campbell and Lamar 2004).

Many occurrences of this species are in protected areas.