Check out this strange place in Canada. A true toe-curler: every spring and fall tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes crawl between grassy marshes and their winter dens in Narcisse, about 130 km north of Winnipeg. There are four dens in the Narcisse Snake Dens Conservation Area, plus special viewing platforms and a 3.0 km interpretive trail. In the spring you can see their mating ritual, which includes up to a hundred rolling into ball around a female. In early September they will begin returning to their dens for the winter.

The Narcisse Snake Dens is a provincial wildlife management area located in the Rural Municipality of Armstrong about 6 km north of Narcisse, Manitoba. The dens are the winter home of tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes. These pits are the largest known concentration in the world of this particular type of snake. 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. Put Narcisse Snake Dens on your schedule, and learn what else deserves a visit by using our Narcisse trip planner.