It is found at high elevations in the Pacific Northwest region of North America, where it fruits singly or in clumps on decaying conifer wood.

[1] The fruit bodies of Lentinellus montanus are sessile, meaning that they lack a stipe and grow directly on the substrate.

[3] Recorded tree substrates include Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii),[5] Shasta red fir (Abies magnifica var.

[6] The fungus mycelium has also been found growing on fire wounds on living trees of Engelmann spruce and Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), where it attacks the springwood and causes small pockets of rot.

[6] A snowbank mushroom, L. montanus fruits near melting snow banks, typically in the spring and early summer (May to July).