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Austin Congress Bridge Bats

  Map to Austin Congress Bridge Bats
 

Bats Season is Mid-March to Early November

About Congress Bridge Bats
The Congress Avenue Bridge spans Town Lake in downtown Austin and is home to the largest urban bat colony in North America.  The colony is estimated at 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats.   Each night from mid-March to November, the bats emerge from under the bridge at dusk to blanket the sky as they head out to forage for food.  This event has become one of the most spectacular and unusual tourist attractions in Texas.  The most spectacular bat flights are during hot, dry August nights, when multiple columns of bats emerge.  There are several points from which to view the event, and an information kiosk is located on the north bank of the river, just east of the bridge.

Four Great Ways to View the Bats

1.  Capital Cruises Bat Watching Tours
Capital Cruises Austin is home of the Largest Electric Paddle Wheel Boat in the Country and the now famous Sunset Bat Watching excursion.   This tour fills up nearly every night during bat season and reservations at are highly recommended.  Prices are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, and $5 for kids.  Visit Capital Cruises listing to learn more or you can use this link to buy tickets now.

2. Kayak Bat Watching Tours from Live Love Paddle
In the heat of the summer, watching the bats from Austin's
Live Love Paddle kayak tour is the way to go.  Tours start at Joe's Crab Shack on Lady Bird Lake where you kayak up the lake to see the bats emerge.  Each group receives a free appetizer card from Joe's Crab Shack, which is a nice place to dine after.  The minimum weight on bat-watching tours is 30 lbs and maximum weight is 275 lbs.  These tours are currently available on Wednesday - Sunday evenings at 7:15pm.  Tour minimums may apply.  Prices are $35 per person and tandem boats are available.  Reservations for Live Love Paddle Bat Tours require 3 hours notice. 

3.  "Bativities" Bike Tour from Austin Cycle School
Austin Cycle School's Bativities tours includes your choice of several downtown activities and sightseeing before ending up at Congress Bridge to see the bats emerge.  You can play tennis, volley ball, frisbee golf, pitch and putt, see the Capitol, 6th Street, Barton Springs Pool, and more before your bat stop.  Prices are $35 per person and space it limited to 4 people per night.  Reservations are recommended.

4.  SegCity Segway Bat Watching Tours
If you want to catch the bats in style and skip the exercise, we'd recommend a bat watching tour from SegCity.  They'll gear you up and teach you how to ride a segway, take you for a spin around downtown Austin including the Texas Capitol building, Sixth Street, and finish up with a great view of the Congress Bridge Bats nightly departure.  Prices are $85 per person and tours tend to fill up on the weekends. Online reservations are available.

Interesting Bat Facts

  • The bats provide a valuable service to the Austin community by consuming between 10,000 to 30,000 pounds of insects nightly!
  • Bats can live to be 30 years old.
  • Mother bats give birth to a single pup each year.  The pups birth weight is nearly 1/3 that of its mother.
  • Bats are mammals and nurse the pups from mammary glands.  Each female recognizes her pups voice and smell and will nurse only her pup.
  • During migrations to Mexico and back, bats may reach an altitude of 10,000 feet and velocities of 60 miles per hour.

For more information about the Congress Avenue Bat Colony or bats in general, please contact:

Bat Conservation International
P.O. Box 162603
Austin, Texas 78716
(512) 327-9721


Directions: Congress Avenue is one of three major bridges that connect downtown Austin to the South side of Town Lake.  To get there, take either Mopac or IH-35 to downtown and exit on 1st Street.  Proceed towards the center of town.  Congress Avenue Bridge is the bridge located closest to IH-35.

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