So what's your favorite place in the US, as far as herps go?

I spent most of my life in the south, born in Houston and lived there until I was 8, moved to alaska for a year and a half, then moved to Lafayette LA for 5 years, and then moved back to houston till the end of high school. I've spent the past four years going to school in Minnesota. I've spent numerous summers in Michigan and numerous spring vacations in Florida, to visit grandparents.

Of all these places, Louisiana was most certainly my favorite. I lived a 10 minute walk from trails next to a bayou. In the right season, it was prime tadpole territory. I raised many young frogs as a kid, releasing them back into the wild when they were grown. Along with this territory went dangers of running into cottonmouths and copperheads. It was always exciting to see one of these guys, and I gave them my total respect when one was around. If I was VERY lucky, I could run into a mud snake, these guys are super pretty with red bellies. Supposedly, they have a "sharp" scale at the end of their tail they can poke(or "sting") with, but I left these guys well enough alone so I can't personally confirm this, but still a very odd adaptation for a snake.

Of course, no Louisiana herping is complete without a trip to gator country. My parents would take the family out regularly to a place called Lake Martin. It looked like a pretty typical louisiana swampy lake, with cypress trees and water so dark that could hide the loch ness monster. Walking on the trail that went around the lake, you could see all sorts of cool stuff, from deer to schooling catfish splashing at the surface. And of course, GATORS!! All kinds of gators, big gators, small gators, baby gators, mid-sized gators.. Sometimes you could see a big ol' 12'+ male sunbathing in the mornings.

We would often canoe in this lake, and one of the coolest creatures they have here(although not a herp) is the alligator gar. These guys can breath air, and will on occasion pop up to the surface and take a big gulp. I've had them surface not 5 feet away from the canoe, and it sure is a surprise to have a big 100 lb or bigger fish come out of nowhere, see you and get spooked, and splash you as it dives back under!

So where's your favorite place for herp wildlife?