There are no native, established populations of land snakes in Alaska, and the state is widely regarded as a “no-snake” state, but very rare, stray garter snakes and transported pet or hitchhiking snakes do occasionally turn up.

Quick Scoop

  • Alaska has no native terrestrial snake species confirmed as living there long-term in the wild.
  • The Alaska Department of Fish and Game explicitly notes that Alaska’s only regularly occurring reptiles are rare sea turtles offshore, not land snakes.
  • A few isolated garter snake finds (for example, one found in a hay bale shipped from Washington state) show that individual snakes can arrive, but there is still no proof of a self-sustaining wild snake population.

Why There Aren’t Snakes

  • Alaska’s long, extreme winters and generally cold climate make it very hard for snakes to hibernate and survive year after year, which prevents stable populations from forming.
  • Biologists suspect that occasional snakes may be washed down rivers from Canada during big flood events or brought in accidentally with cargo, but these individuals almost certainly die out before establishing.

What About Garter Snakes?

  • Garter snakes are common across much of North America and have been historically rumored in far Southeast Alaska along rivers like the Taku and Stikine, near the Canadian border.
  • However, physical evidence has been weak or lost, and recent summaries still describe these as unconfirmed or extremely sporadic occurrences, not an established Alaskan population.

Are Pet Snakes Allowed?

  • Some Alaskans keep snakes as pets, and escaped or released pets (or snakes accidentally brought in with hay or freight) are the most likely source of any snake sightings in populated areas.
  • Wildlife researchers are actively watching for any sign that such arrivals could turn into breeding populations, but current expert opinion is that Alaska remains effectively snake-free in the wild.

Travel & Safety Perspective

  • For visitors worried about venomous snakes, Alaska is considered one of the safest U.S. states: there are no known native venomous snakes and no established wild snake populations to avoid on trails.
  • Standard outdoor caution is still smart (watch footing, give any unknown animal space), but fear of snakes specifically is not a major concern for hikers and campers there.

TL;DR: If you are wondering “are there snakes in Alaska?” the practical answer is: no native wild snake populations, only extremely rare one-off individuals showing up, with no evidence they survive long-term.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.