Narcisse Snake Dens — Attraction in Rural Municipality of Armstrong

I'm not a snake person but this was great. I've never touched a snake before and only saw them on TV or in a zoo, same goes for my kids. My kids wanted to buy some snakes after visiting here. (not happening 😊) All of the snakes here are small and very friendly. Again I've never touched one but I picked some up and they were very happy to move around a bit and then just lay and enjoy the warmth of my arm. We visited in late May and there was still hundreds of snakes in each of the four dens. Plenty of parking, washroom facilities (including well stocked tp), lots of picnic tables and benches for sitting for a break along the walking path. There is no running water. There is a non-potable well/hand pump near the picnic area near the parking lot. There is hand sanitizer dispensers outside each washroom but you should plan to bring your own as well. We took our time wandering through the path and it took us about 2 hours total. This is with pausing A LOT to play with and observe the snakes. If it is a warm sunny day be sure to bring a small backpack with some water and hand sanitizer. It was only 20c with a slight breeze on the day we went so we didn't carry anything with us. As usual be sure to use plenty of sunscreen and some bug spray if needed. There were like 3 flies on our day and no mosquitoes. All of the paths are crushed limestone and wood decking and railings at the pit sites, no need to go off into the grass. We had no trouble with wood ticks. Well done Manitoba...

A spur of a moment May 14, 2016 road took me to NarcA spur of a moment May 14, 2016 road took me to Narcisse Snake Den. This was on my bucket list & pumped I even held a few snakes!!

It was a bit of a drive north west of Winnipeg. I arrive at the town wondering where am I and how much further. No cell service so I could not use Google Map.

I decided to go just a bit further to find the snake den everyone talks about. I parked my car and said to myself here goes nothing. The park is clean and the path is wide along with a gorgeous walk breathtaking. I hear someone said dad has one. I really wanted to handle the snake. I asked if I could. My heart laid still and no worries at all. I did decide to remove my sun glasses. I quite enjoyed myself and all the four snake dens which were clearly marked. if you look close at some of the foto’s you will see the red marking on the snakes. Along the path I did see two snakes together what look like a chain mating. So cool. Oh there are out houses which one can use. No way I had my fair of snakes grouping up in outsides. Lol

Please please Spring of 2019 take a road trip and enjoy your day. isse Snake Den. This was on my bucket list & pumped I even held a...

The dens are the winter home of tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes. These pits are known to house the largest concentration of this particular type of snake in the world. Their winter dens are caverns formed by the area's water-worn limestone bedrock. In the spring, they come up from their dens to the snake pits, where they mate, then they disperse into the nearby marshes for the summer.(Wikipedia)

This is a very unique experience as they are very harmless and you can also hold them with bare hands, but be very careful as we might hurt them thinking they are harmless.

There is no network in the area and these pits are part of a short hike. Make sure to wear walking shoes and carry enough water as there is no availability of food or water at the site. There are enough washrooms all across the site but carry personal sanitation products for yourself.

Picnic tables, fire pits are also available on site along with friendly officials who provide good information. Best time to witness them is in spring around end of April and 1st/2nd week of May and then after in September for few weeks. Generally it is updated on Government of...