This Illinois Lake Is a Slithering Nightmare of Snakes

It's ironic that one of Illinois' biggest and most popular lakes also happens to be the one with the most snakes. It's quite literally 11,000 acres of slither, but it's worth the fear factor for all of its entertainment options.

This is a result of me making the admittedly questionable decision to search out the most snake-infested lakes in Illinois since we're getting closer to that time of year when the weather will warm up enough to get outside and enjoy water activities again. The most recent I could find was from World Atlas who said this huge Illinois lake is the world snake headquarters.

They say the most likely snake you'll probably run into at Lake Shelbyville is the eastern garter snake, but there are tons of northern water snakes, too. Both of those snakes are relatively harmless to humans, but there's another slithering option you need to watch out for and that's the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake. While they're not known to be aggressive, they do pack enough venom to cause you a world of hurt and possibly your life if you don't get treatment quick enough after a bite. The good news is fatal rattlesnake bites are rare, so don't let that dissuade you from taking in all the water fun that Lake Shelbyville has to offer. In Illinois, it's the one place where you need to know that it's the home for tons of snakes and you're only a visitor.