diff --git a/src/database/dbms.hpp b/src/database/dbms.hpp
index 2cf240bf0..e6e4c9a75 100644
--- a/src/database/dbms.hpp
+++ b/src/database/dbms.hpp
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 #include "database/graph_db.hpp"
 #include "database/graph_db_accessor.hpp"
 #include "durability/recovery.hpp"
+#include "utils/exceptions.hpp"
 
 DECLARE_string(snapshot_directory);
 DECLARE_bool(recover_on_startup);
@@ -39,13 +40,22 @@ namespace fs = std::experimental::filesystem;
 class Dbms {
  public:
   Dbms() {
+    auto snapshot_root_dir = fs::path(FLAGS_snapshot_directory);
+    if (fs::exists(snapshot_root_dir) && !fs::is_directory(snapshot_root_dir)) {
+      throw utils::BasicException("Specified snapshot directory is a file!");
+    }
+
     if (FLAGS_recover_on_startup) {
-      if (fs::exists(fs::path(FLAGS_snapshot_directory))) {
+      if (fs::exists(snapshot_root_dir)) {
         auto accessor = dbs.access();
-        for (auto &snapshot_db :
+        for (auto &snapshot_db_dir :
              fs::directory_iterator(FLAGS_snapshot_directory)) {
-          // create db and set it active
-          active(snapshot_db.path().filename(), snapshot_db);
+          // The snapshot folder structure is:
+          //   snapshot_root_dir/database_name/[timestamp]
+          if (fs::is_directory(snapshot_db_dir)) {
+            // Create db and set it active
+            active(snapshot_db_dir.path().filename(), snapshot_db_dir);
+          }
         }
       }
     }
diff --git a/src/database/graph_db.cpp b/src/database/graph_db.cpp
index 8a51fd0e7..d253921c2 100644
--- a/src/database/graph_db.cpp
+++ b/src/database/graph_db.cpp
@@ -71,8 +71,11 @@ void GraphDb::StartSnapshooting() {
 void GraphDb::RecoverDatabase(const fs::path &snapshot_db_dir) {
   if (snapshot_db_dir.empty()) return;
   std::vector<fs::path> snapshots;
-  for (auto &snapshot_file : fs::directory_iterator(snapshot_db_dir))
-    snapshots.push_back(snapshot_file);
+  for (auto &snapshot_file : fs::directory_iterator(snapshot_db_dir)) {
+    if (fs::is_regular_file(snapshot_file)) {
+      snapshots.push_back(snapshot_file);
+    }
+  }
 
   std::sort(snapshots.rbegin(), snapshots.rend());
   Recovery recovery;