Arctostaphylos nevadensis is a short, spreading shrub forming mats, tangles, or mounds less than half a meter tall.

The larger branches have dull red bark and the twigs are generally woolly.

The shrub blooms in spherical clusters of urn-shaped whitish manzanita flowers.

Arctostaphylos nevadensis is native to western North America from Washington to California, where it grows in the coniferous forests of the inland and coastal mountain ranges.

This species is cultivated as a chaparral landscaping plant and it is used to stabilize soil against erosion on mountain slopes.