Many people go to the infamous Snake Road in Illinois this time of year on purpose. I'm gonna take a hard pass, but that wasn't a problem for a recent explorer who shared up-close video of the very venomous Cottonmouth snake.

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If you're not familiar with Snake Road, it's a stretch of road in southern Illinois that is purposely closed this time of year to allow the natural migration of many snake species including venomous rattlesnakes and Cottonmouth. Schechter Natural History on YouTube just visited it (on a hike) and shared some incredible video of what they witnessed:

Another great day on Snake Road! We saw a handful snakes and a ton of amazing creatures. It was mostly Cottonmouths but we also had a few Rough Green Snakes. Also seen were Southern Leopard Frogs, Green Frogs, Green Tree Frogs, Cave Salamanders, Long-tailed Salamanders and a Tricolored Bat.

Another "great day" on Snake Road? I guess that depends on your viewpoint. I will confess that their video is great though.

Snake Road in southern Illinois closes every September through the end of October for this very reason. The US Forest Service has more info on what this road is all about and how to safely observe it. I'm gonna continue to observe it from a great distance and vicariously live through the brave YouTubers who continue to share their experiences.

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