My First Trip to Snake Road

[tspuckler]

This weekend I decided to take a trip to a place I've been hearing about for years. I finally decided to take a 9-1/2 drive to Snake Road. I left at 4:00AM.

Snake Road is located in extreme southwest Illinois. To get to the north end of the road, you must drive on the levee of the Big Muddy River. The temperature was in the upper 70s.

Snake Road runs parallel to the limestone bluffs you can see in the distance.

The road is closed for most of the month of October to allow for snakes to migrate from swampy floodplains to the bluffs where they hibernate.

Here's a view from the parking lot.

Some careful searching turned up this, a Green Treefrog.

Eventually I got to the road. It was Thursday afternoon at 1:30. I had Snake Road all to myself.

After about 10 minutes of hiking, I came across my first snake, this Western Cottonmouth.

Cricket Frogs seemed to be everywhere. With every step I took, I'd see a few hopping to get out of the way.

Soon I started seeing more Cottonmouths. Most were just hanging out in the road, and a few were moving slowly across it, heading for the bluffs.

When approached, they usually displayed their characteristic defensive display, which looks like this.

 

[wstphal]

Great pictures!

 

[tspuckler]

Here's another - I saw a total of 15 Cottonmouths on Thursday.

This juvenile still retained some of its pattern it had as a baby.

I was quite pleased to find this Mississippi Green Water Snake as my hike was coming to a close.

It was a great way to finish the day.

That night my longtime friend Terry Dunham located me living large at the Lincoln Motel in downtown Jonesboro. We made plans to hit Snake Road the following morning.

Terry has an orange car. Friday was a bit cooler weather-wise, and there wasn't the quantity of snakes that were out the previous day - but we did manage to add some variety to the list.

Terry spotted this Eastern Garter Snake on the levee road.

Here's a picture of me taking a picture of the snake.

Once we got onto Snake Road, I spotted this Rough Green Snake on the side of the trail. As found:

On the ground:

Two types of lizards were seen on the trip - Ground Skinks and Fence Lizards (Fence Lizard pictured).

 

[tspuckler]

Two types of Leopard Frogs were present in large numbers. Plains Leopard Frogs and Southern Leopard Frogs (Southern Leopard Frog pictured).

Only half a dozen or so Cottonmouths were seen.

Although conditions in and around the bluffs were very dry, a handful of Cave Salamanders were observed.

Seeing this Black Rat Snake on the road was an excellent way to close out the day.

On Saturday, the day started off overcast with a bit of rain. It didn't seem like it would be a productive day.

But driving along the levee road in the morning I spotted this - a 34 inch Western Ribbon Snake.

Further down the road I caught a snake I'd seen on my two previous days, but was unable to get a good photograph of - a Yellowbelly Water Snake.

Is wasn't long before I joined forces with several members of the Greater Cincinnati Herpetological Society. The group was soon finding amphibians on the banks on the Big Muddy River.

 

[tspuckler]

This Cricket Frog had some pretty nice coloration.

A young Spotted Salamander.

Plains Leopard Frog.

Eventually we made it back to Snake Road.

With limestone bluffs on one side.

And swampy floodplains on the other side of the road.

This young Yellowbelly Water Snake was found by Jim Anno, Vice President of the herp society.

Not long afterward, Cottonmouths started turning up - we saw a total of 10.

A few small, boldly patterned juvenile Cottonmouths were seen too.

There were also a fair number of visitors admiring the snakes - it was an excellent weekend.

 

[Nanci]

You are so lucky!!! I would _love_ to go to Snake Road!!!

 

[wstphal]

That poor snake in the last picture! All these people with cameras staring down at it.

 

[pridecity]

So that's a place where you want to wear high boots huh? I love that orange salamander. So pretty! I'm not sure if we have any in Colorado. Probably some sort of species but not any I'll find walking in my neighborhood.

 

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Cottonmouths are pretty aggressive, right? You can't find them here but I saw one on display at a show last weekend and it was going for me lol! Even after I stood a good two feet away it kept striking.

 

[desertanimal]

Man, that's great. I live in herp heaven, but I really, really miss salamanders. I don't miss them on a daily basis, but whenever I see them it makes me feel homesick. Homesick for salamanders! LOL! Nice finds!

 

[Momto3boys]

Wow, snake seems like an awesome place to visit!

Great shots, looks like you had an awesome weekemd

 

[w00dg0blin]

That poor snake in the last picture! All these people with cameras staring down at it.

Could of been worse. At least they all didn't have shovels and whacking sticks.

Thanks for all the pics. My favorite has to be the rough green snake; they look so elegant.

 

[fyrefocks]

Nice! KS.com bumped this thread on facebook.

 

[Irish Eyes (Mrs.Z)]

So much beauty and interest in such a concentrated area! LOVE the ribbon snake and the green snake best, along with that orange salamander. The cottonmouths look just plain wicked! LOL!

 

[Cflaguy]

Nice day.....

Wow, great to see herpin days where you find stuff every ten feet or so.

 

[Nanci]

(It's like where Craig works...)

I didn't know ks.com was on FaceBook! Thanks! Wow- can you imagine if cs.com was???

 

[wstphal]

Could of been worse. At least they all didn't have shovels and whacking sticks.

But does the poor snake know that?

 

[vetusvates]

Great pics, Mr. Spuckler.
The pics of the limestone cliffs are really cool. I've always wondered about snakes spending the winter together,...where exactly, and how many different species.

Looking down the great pics of the road makes me miss Kentucky.

 

[wstphal]

We should consider a cs.com trip to Snake Road! We could book a local motel, etc.

 

[pridecity]

I like it Betsy. If I had the money, I'd go. We could even have our own expo of sorts maybe.