Pardosa monticola is normally found in open short vegetation in grasslands, meadows, open heaths and dunes, especially where the land is not subject to any form of improvement. P. monticola can be numerous in areas of chalk grassland and on stabilised dunes. In some parts of Britain, e.g. Wiltshire, it is usually found exclusively in the short sward of chalk downland. Adults are active mainly from early to mid-summer, females later than males. A study on the Frisian island of Schiermonnikoog found that in sympatry with Pardosa nigriceps and Pardosa pullata P. monticola preferred the arid, less vegetated parts of the study area and was found more often in the ground layer than its cogeners.