It is native to northwestern North America from Alaska to northern California to Montana.

It is a common to abundant plant in many types of coastal and inland wetland habitat, such as marshes, riverbanks, swamps, coastal sand dunes, and mountain springs.

Salix sitchensis is variable in appearance, taking the form of a bushy shrub or an erect tree up to 8 m (26 ft) tall.

The leaves are up to 12 cm long, lance-shaped or oval with pointed tips, smooth-edged or toothed, often with the edges rolled under.

The undersides are hairy to woolly in texture, and the upper surfaces are mostly hairless and dark green.