diff --git a/docs/dev/development.md b/docs/dev/development.md
index 94233045315..98006478a23 100644
--- a/docs/dev/development.md
+++ b/docs/dev/development.md
@@ -122,6 +122,9 @@ See the previous section for instructions.
 
     (When you later open another terminal, you can activate the virtualenv with `workon cirq-py3`.)
 
+    **Note:** Some highly managed or customized devices have configurations that interfere with `virtualenv`.
+    In that case, [anaconda](https://www.anaconda.com/) environments may be a better choice.
+
 3. Check that the tests pass.
 
     ```bash