Steinbach's rock snake is back at Les Magnusson Park

It's time for Steinbach’s rock snake to come out of hibernation. 

Marianne Hildebrandt started this snake with her grandchildren as part of a homeschool activity, lining up painted rocks to form a colourful snake to engage the community in a common activity. 

“And people from all over the place come and add their rocks,” she says. “Some do incredible paint jobs on them, and some just do very plain, and some hardly paint anything at all, and it doesn't matter. Everybody just wants to add to it.” 

The snake runs along the walking path beside the Les Magnusson Park. To avoid problems with snow clearing efforts, Hildebrandt and her grandchildren moved the rocks away from the path in fall, into a pile around a tree. 

Now that the weather is warm enough and the snow is gone for the next few months, the rock snake has been reassembled. They have also added a clear coat to protect the rocks they painted last year. 

Hildebrandt says people have been looking forward to the return of the rock snake, which grew to 113 feet last year. 

“Everybody just wants to add to it,” she says. “It’s so fun! It strikes up tons of conversations when we're out there putting the snake down. And yeah, people have been looking forward to it. So, he's back!” 

Hildebrandt looks forward to watching it grow even longer this year. 

-With files from Carly Koop.