Culms 39-102 cm. Basal sheaths glabrous; blades strongly involute, abaxial surfaces glabrous, adaxial surfaces pubescent, usually densely hairy above the ligules. Spikes with 1 spikelet at most nodes, including those at midspike. 2n = 28.

Leymus salina subsp. salina grows on rocky hillsides, primarily in eastern Utah and western Colorado, extending into southern Wyoming and northern Arizona.