It is native to the coastline of western North America from Alaska to Baja California, where it is a common kelp of the intertidal zone.

It is dark brown in color, shiny and bumpy in texture, and may reach over five meters long.

It grows a branching stipe from a thick holdfast.

The alga varies in morphology; the rachis, or central strip, of the frond may be smooth or corrugated, and the blades along the edge of the rachis may be a variety of shapes.

E. menziesii is used in baths or for thalassotherapy, along with species such as Turkish towel (Chondracanthus exasperatus), finger kelp (Laminaria digitata), and Fucus.