diff --git a/libs/ardour/ardour/mixer_snapshot_manager.h b/libs/ardour/ardour/mixer_snapshot_manager.h
index 0890702adb..e11aa9383b 100644
--- a/libs/ardour/ardour/mixer_snapshot_manager.h
+++ b/libs/ardour/ardour/mixer_snapshot_manager.h
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ public:
     void refresh();
     void clear() { _global_snapshots.clear(); _local_snapshots.clear(); };
 private:
-
+    void ensure_snapshot_dir(bool global);
     std::string _global_path;
     std::string _local_path;
 
diff --git a/libs/ardour/mixer_snapshot_manager.cc b/libs/ardour/mixer_snapshot_manager.cc
index b5372bdc3d..a1f83eed40 100644
--- a/libs/ardour/mixer_snapshot_manager.cc
+++ b/libs/ardour/mixer_snapshot_manager.cc
@@ -31,6 +31,7 @@
 
 #include "pbd/basename.h"
 #include "pbd/file_utils.h"
+#include "pbd/gstdio_compat.h"
 
 using namespace ARDOUR;
 using namespace std;
@@ -48,6 +49,14 @@ MixerSnapshotManager::MixerSnapshotManager (Session* s)
     refresh();
 }
 
+void MixerSnapshotManager::ensure_snapshot_dir(bool global)
+{
+    const string path = global ? _global_path : _local_path;
+    if(!Glib::file_test(path.c_str(), Glib::FILE_TEST_EXISTS & Glib::FILE_TEST_IS_DIR)) {
+        ::g_mkdir(path.c_str(), 0775);
+    }
+}
+
 void MixerSnapshotManager::refresh()
 {
     clear();
@@ -96,7 +105,8 @@ void MixerSnapshotManager::refresh()
 
 void MixerSnapshotManager::create_snapshot(std::string const& label, RouteList& rl, bool global)
 {
-    const string path = global?_global_path:_local_path;
+    ensure_snapshot_dir(global);
+    const string path = global ? _global_path : _local_path;
     MixerSnapshot* snapshot = new MixerSnapshot(_session);
     snapshot->snap(rl);
     snapshot->set_label(label);
@@ -113,7 +123,8 @@ void MixerSnapshotManager::create_snapshot(std::string const& label, RouteList&
 
 void MixerSnapshotManager::create_snapshot(std::string const& label, std::string const& from_path, bool global)
 {
-    const string path = global?_global_path:_local_path;
+    ensure_snapshot_dir(global);
+    const string path = global ? _global_path : _local_path;
     MixerSnapshot* snapshot = new MixerSnapshot(_session, from_path);
     snapshot->set_label(label);
     snapshot->write(path);