The habitat for Chapin Mesa milkvetch is dense pinyon-juniper woodland of mesa tops in the Mesa Verde area and the Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park at elevations between 6,500 to 7,500 feet (1,981 to 2,286 meters). It grows primarily in deep red loess soil on mesa tops in old-growth or recently burned pinyon-juniper woodlands.

Chapin Mesa milkvetch requires pollination by insects to set fruit; flowers require a strong insect for pollination because the insect must force itself between the petals of the papilionaceous, meaning butterfly-shaped, flowers. However, the reproductive biology of Chapin Mesa milkvetch has not been widely studied, particularly in regard to pollination requirements.

The stems of Chapin Mesa milkvetch are purplish below, green above, and are 45 to 60 centimeters tall. The stems branch from the base, with short, stiff appressed hairs, meaning lying closely and flatly against the plant's surface, on the foliage. Leaves are pinnate, with 11 to 13 linear leaflets, that are 1 to 2 millimeters wide and 1 to 3 cm long.

Flowers are yellowish-white or cream colored; 12 to 13 cm long, with bracts that extend under the flower that have black hairs. The distinguishing characteristic of the species is the leathery pod. Pods are almost straight when immature, but at maturity the lower, or dorsal, suture is concave and the upper, or ventral, suture is convex. This makes the pod curve downward. Pods are 25 to 40 millimeters long, 2 to 4 millimeters wide, with an obcordate in cross section, meaning in the shape of a heart with the pointed end at the base, without an internal septum and have 10 to 15 seeds per pod.