California mammals

Snowshoe Hare in California

Lepus americanus

Native to California SNR Unranked in California

Not listed as nonindigenous in California by USGS NAS; native to its California range.

IUCN Red List status

  1. LC
  2. NT
  3. VU
  4. EN
  5. CR
  6. EW
  7. EX

LC – Least Concern

Widespread and abundant; not at risk.

Lepus americanus 5459 croppedLepus americanus - Blomidon Provincial Park 02Lepus americanus 0zzLive snowshoe hare in brown summer coat sitting under low branches
Photo: Lepus_americanus_5459.JPG: Walter Siegmund (talk) derivative work: Wsiegmund · CC BY-SA 3.0Lepus americanus 5459 croppedPhoto: Fralambert · CC BY-SA 4.0Lepus americanus - Blomidon Provincial Park 02Photo: Photo by David J. Stang · CC BY-SA 4.0Lepus americanus 0zzPhoto: christine123 · CC BY 4.0Live snowshoe hare in brown summer coat sitting under low branches

Snowshoe Hare in California, by the numbers

Occasional in California 142nd most recorded of 241 mammals logged in California

161 occurrence records
103 with iNaturalist photos

Records from 2000–2026.

161 total records count every California occurrence from GBIF and iNaturalist; the monthly chart covers the 160 records with a full observation date.

When to look for the Snowshoe Hare in California

Most sightings fall in May to August.

160 California occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) by month of year, 2000–2026. Shows when the species is recorded, not a guarantee of presence.

Monthly California records (table)
MonthRecords
January17
February22
March7
April5
May14
June19
July23
August14
September8
October7
November13
December11

Monthly snowshoe hare occurrence records (iNaturalist and GBIF) in California, 2000–2026.

Seasonality

Year-round in California, with recorded sightings peaking in May–August, with a smaller rise in January–February.

Occurrence map

Where Snowshoe Hare has been recorded in California

161 records mapped · zoom and drag to explore

161 California records mapped

Notable places to look

Park, forest, or monumentiNaturalist records
Tahoe National Forest 38
Eldorado National Forest 11
Lake Tahoe 5
Yosemite National Park 3
Lassen National Forest 3
Caribou Wilderness 2
Shasta National Forest 2
Carson-Iceberg Wilderness 2

Protected places with the most snowshoe hare sightings, from the USGS Protected Areas Database plus named mountain ranges, good spots to look, not a full breakdown, so they don't sum to the total.

Where it's recorded in California

CountyRecords
Placer County 41
Nevada County 28
El Dorado County 21
Siskiyou County 12
Tehama County 11
Sierra County 8
Alpine County 7
Tuolumne County 7
Lassen County 7
Plumas County 7
Shasta County 5
Mono County 1
6 other counties 6

The complete county distribution, spread across 18 California counties. Every occurrence record falls in one county, so these sum to the total. Counties from GBIF and US Census boundaries.

California’s combined state files contain 246 Snowshoe Hare records: 103 from iNaturalist and 143 from GBIF. It ranks 143th among 243 mammals in this California record comparison, placing it in the middle third. That’s a ranking of submitted records, not a head count of animals.

The monthly series reaches its high point in February and July, with 15 records in the busiest months. Records appear in 12 of 12 months, so the pattern shows when sightings were documented, not when the species must be present or absent.

California accounts for about 2% of the mapped GBIF records summarized on the national Snowshoe Hare page. That’s a small share of the known record footprint, though differences in survey effort can strongly shape the percentage.

Occurrence data from iNaturalist and GBIF.

Snowshoe Hare in other states

View all states →

Lepus americanus 5459 cropped
Full species profile Snowshoe Hare Lepus americanus Size 41–52 cm16.1–20.5 in Weight 1.4–1.6 kg3.2–3.4 lb Lifespan Up to 8 yr View the full profile

More mammals in California in the atlas

Data & sources

The data and visualizations on this page draw on these open sources:

  • GBIFCC-BY 4.0occurrence records behind the range map, elevation, and record counts
  • iNaturalistCC0 / CC-BY / CC-BY-SAobservations, photos, and audio recordings
  • NatureServe ExplorerCC-BYthe state conservation rank
  • IUCN Red Listattributed factthe global conservation status
  • USGS NASpublic domainnative / introduced status
  • Natural Earthpublic domainthe relief basemap
  • USFSpublic domainnational-forest boundaries
  • USGS Protected Areas Databasepublic domainthe named parks, forests, and refuges behind "notable places to look"