The mountain cottontail rabbit is characterized by a short head, large eyes, and large ears, with short hairs on the outside of the ears and slightly longer hairs on the inside. The claws are stout and sharp, covered with fur. The ears and hind legs are relatively short.

The upper body of the mountain cottontail rabbit is light gray, gray, gray-brown To reddish-brown, with mottled hair; underparts white or pale yellow. Usually the coat is lighter in summer and darker in winter.

The mountain cottontail rabbit is herbivorous and has dual digestive functions, that is, after the cecum is enriched with a large amount of vitamins, the capsules are wrapped into soft feces, discharged from the anus, swallowed by themselves, and then digested to make full use of the vitamins , and then discharged feces is round hard feces.