Bats Underneath Congress Bridge Attractions & Landmark
Mexican Free-Tailed BatsAustin,
TX, 78701
United States
+1 512 416 5700Overview
The Congress Bridge over Town Lake houses approximately one and a half million bats in mid-summer. In the spring, the pregnant female makes her way north to roosting sites in the Southwestern United States. They each give birth to a baby and at five weeks of age the pups can fly. Hundreds of people line the bridge at dusk to catch a rare glimpse of the bats as they leave the bridge for their nightly feeding. It may take up to 45 minutes for all the bats to exit. They will consume between 10,000 and 30,000 pounds of insects each night.You can take a basket with cheese & wine sit on the grassy knoll and have a romantic sunset dinner, while waiting for the bats to come out. Even if it gets to dark to see them you still had a good time with the one your with.
We waited around for a couple of hours for the bats, but I'm glad we got there early because it got crowded. They didn't emerge until it was pretty dark so it was actually quite difficult to see them from the bridge, which is where we were. I don't know if they view would have been better from underneath rather than on top of them.
A nice way to segue day into night at the capitol city. Bring a blanket and lay on the grass to really enjoy the spectacle.
You go to a park sit and wait and then bats fly out by the thousands despensing poo and other waste on the onlookers. The sheer number os bats is interesting and the whole anticipation thing is fun. Its something to do once basically.
While I understand that most of the bats had migrated by then, we still were able to see a couple bats flying (against the backdrop of a white building), and saw one up close. However, the atmosphere of about 50 people, mainly families, was wonderful.
We went to see the bats fly 2 summers ago. What an amazing experience. We had lived in Texas for a few years and did not even know about them until our daughter & her boyfriend came and told us about them. He found out in a travel book. Of course we had to go check them out, and what a neat and different experience it was. Free parking, No admission fee, what more could you ask for!!! The people that come to see this event is unbelievable. When my brother comes to visit, I will be sure to take him there as he is an avid outdoors person and would find that to be totally interesting. Can't wait to go again!
Every time im in Austin, I make sure we always goo watch the bats. I think its just so neat! I love watching the bats fly out to eat and whatnot. I think everyone should go watch the bats at least once.
loved the free parking and close walk. the bridge fills up early but there is always room underneath the bridge in the grassy area, just watch out for droppings
I loved watching the bats come out from under the Congress bridge. It was such an amazing site watching them take flight over the evening sky. The park underneath the bridge is well kept and beautiful. Very informative about and deticated to the bats.
In no other urban setting can you see such a natural phenomenon (you have to go to a batcave out in the boonies, which is inconvenient, to see so many bats in flight), and, best of all, it's absolutely free!



