Todd Steiner

Endangered San Francisco garter snake

Reptiles are an often feared family of Golden Gate's fauna, but with their hardy scales in intricately arranged patterns, they are also one of the most beautiful.  Look for lizards and snakes sunning on a rock or a stretch of trail as you hike through the park, or keep your eyes out for red eared slider turtles resting on a log at Mountain Lake. The garter snake is the most common snake in the area, but a number of other species have ranges in the park such as the king snake, gopher snake, Pacific ring neck, and rubber boa. Humans have nothing to fear from these constrictors, which prey on small rodents and other reptiles, slowly squeezing them to death. The legged reptiles include the alligator lizard with its long mottled body, the Western fence lizard with its blue belly, and the Western skink. Most native turtles have been extirpated, but it is possible that a visitor might see a Western pond turtle tucked away in the park's wildlands.

The San Francisco garter snake has been listed as endangered by the USFWS and CDFG since 1967. This snake is endemic to San Mateo County, where it occurs in the San Francisco Watershed and a few other sites such as Mori Point in Pacifica. Milagra Ridge is potential habitat for the San Francisco garter snake because of the presence of prey items and the historic occurrence of the garter snake in sag ponds along Skyline Road.