“There are venomous snakes here. Twenty-three species of snakes have been documented.” –Biologist Mark Vukovich
If you’re creeped out by snakes you may want to avoid Shawnee National Forest this time of year because there’s annual serpent migration thats big enough to shutdown a road.
The U.S. Forest Service is preparing to close roughly three miles of road in southern Illinois due to a snake migration. A 2.7-mile stretch of Forest Road 345 (locally known as Snake Road) has been shutdown to allow for safe travel for the 23 species of snakes that have been documented in the area. The snakes hibernate in limestone cliffs and they go to and from these cliffs every year into a nearby swamp creating the mass migration.
“The No. 1 snake you’re going to see here is going to be the Northern Cottonmouth. The other two venomous snakes are Copperhead and Timber Rattlesnake. You have a good chance of seeing those.”
They say its safe come watch but its is HIGHLY stressed to stay on the road and not venture off into the brush. If you want to see for yourself October is best month MORE INFO HERE.