Males defend small areas around themselves during the breeding period. The defended space changes as the male toad moves. Some males are silent, and do not appear to defend a territory. Mating system is polygynous. Eggs are laid in clusters.
Tadpoles metamorphose during the first summer or fall after the eggs are deposited.
Tadpoles of this species may compete for food or space with those of Hyla regilla, Rana muscosa, and B. boreas, when they co-occur. Desiccation of pools before metamorphosis is a major cause of mortality. Hibernacula of a population of Bufo boreas boreas in the Colorado Front Range. Cunningham, J. D. 1963. Additional observations on the ecology of the Yosemite toad, Bufo canorus.