Its habitat includes moist coastal meadows and canyons.
It is almost always found in association with humans, leaving its original habitat unclear; it may have evolved as a plant of coastal meadows.
It is native to northern California and southern Oregon, where it grows in mountain forests, woodlands, and coastal meadows.
Bluebells are also frequently found in hedgerows, and in the west of their range they can be found growing in open habitats, including coastal meadows.
The islet is covered by coastal meadow and the coastline by reed bed.
There is a 25 hectares forest on the northern part of the island while the southern part consists of coastal meadows.
Brown bears are a common sight in the coastal meadows in spring and summer when they come to feed on the spawning salmon.
The nature reserve is a species-rich conservation area comprising mainly herb-rich forested areas, coastal meadows and alvars.
Saltholm's vegetation is dominated primarily by grasses, with its landscape consisting mainly of flat chalk meadowlands and coastal meadow.
The island is formed by two glacial moraine hills surrounded by coastal meadows and small headlands.