The pelage of this chipmunk is marked with five dark and four light stripes on the dorsum; the middorsal stripe is usually black and nearly always darker than the other four dark stripes. The sides of the face are marked with three brown and two light gray stripes, a patch behind the ear is light gray. The tail is blackish frosted with ochre dorsally and rusty brown ventrally. Allen's chipmunk produces a call of a rapid series of three or four to as many as 10 syllables.

In Oregon, it occurs in forested areas along the eastern part of the Cascade Range from Ollalie Forest Camp and Warm Springs in Jefferson County south to eastern Ashland, Jackson County, and Lakeview, Lake County. These chipmunks are forest dwellers that, in addition to climbing in trees, frequent dense thickets and rocky outcrops. Allen's chipmunks are superb climbers.

Photo by ©Keith Kohl, ODFW