Prairie rattlesnakes live in Pueblo County's grasslands and bluffs

If you hike the trails at Lake Pueblo, walk the bluffs along the Arkansas, or live on the edge of town, you share the ground with prairie rattlesnakes. They are common across Colorado’s lower country, including the grasslands and rocky slopes around Pueblo. This is normal, not a reason to stay indoors.

A rattlesnake would rather avoid you. Most bites happen when someone steps on a snake they did not see or tries to handle one. Colorado Parks and Wildlife offers simple advice: give a snake room, roughly five feet, since they can strike about half their body length. If you hear that buzz, freeze and find the snake before you move. Never try to catch, move, or kill it. Wear sturdy shoes and long pants on rocky or brushy trails, and take extra care at dawn and dusk when snakes are active and hard to see. Keep dogs leashed, since a curious nose is a common way pets get bitten.

If a bite does happen, stay as calm as you can and call 911 right away. Do not use old tricks like cutting or sucking the wound.

For plain-language rattlesnake safety and what to do about a bite, see Colorado Parks and Wildlife.