Depending upon where you are in California there are Diamondback Rattlers and Mountain Rattlers everywhere pretty much. They like being in rocks and wild things like Oats and shrub brush a lot.

 

Mostly you have to listen for them when walking someplace at all wild. However, they don't usually show up in the cities but you will often find them in Suburbia in back yards too. They are about as common as raccoons and about equally as difficult to deal with. So, if you aren't familiar with rattlesnakes it's important to know about them walking around especially in the wilds anywhere in California, especially through the weeds and off trail or off dirt roads like Fire Roads usually dirt or rocks all over California. However, it is mostly when you go off trail or off roads even dirt where you will see them around rocks. Don't grab onto rocks unless you can see what's over the top of them either because these snakes hide a lot in rocks everywhere too. Also, listen for their rattling sound which sounds a little like a baby rattle.

 

Also, Baby rattlers are more fatal than full adults because they don't know how to regulate the poison coming out of their fangs and often unload it ALL into you so be careful of Baby Rattlers especially.

 

 begin quote from:

ABC News

78-year-old woman dies from snake bites in Northern California: Sheriff

She was bitten three times and died two days later, officials said.

ByTristan Maglunog

April 22, 2026, 7:17 AM

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3:32

What to do if you are bit by a snakeSnake bites and venom can cause injury and in very rare cases can be fatal.

A 78-year-old woman has died from snake bites in Northern California, marking the third deadly snake bite victim in the state this year.

The woman was walking in a rural area in Redwood Valley on April 8 when she suffered three venomous snake bites, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said.

She was treated at a hospital but died on April 10, the sheriff's office said.

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While about 7,000 to 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes each year in the U.S., only about five of those people die from the bites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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But this already marks the third deadly snake bite in California this year.

A 25-year-old man died after he was bitten by a rattlesnake while mountain biking in Irvine in Southern California in February, according to ABC Los Angeles station KABC. In March, a 46-year-old woman died after she was bitten by a rattlesnake while hiking at Southern California's Wildwood Regional Park, KABC reported.

Peak rattlesnake season is just getting underway. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said bites are most common between April and October.

Related Topics

• Animals

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