Congress Bridge Bats in Austin TX
Austin is the state capital of Texas, an inland city bordering the Hill Country region. Home to the University of Texas flagship campus, Austin is understood for its diverse live-music scene focused around nation, blues and rock. Its numerous parks and lakes are popular for treking, biking, swimming and boating. South of the city, Formula One's Circuit of the Americas raceway has hosted the United States Grand Prix.
Austin's most popular destination with the travelers is the Congress Bridge Bats. It's a fantastic visual to enjoy 1.5 million bats fly throughout the sky in their nightly departure from Congress Bridge in their never ending pursuit to their meal of mosquitoes.
The Congress Avenue bridge spans Lady Bird Lake in downtown Austin and is house to the biggest metropolitan bat colony in North America known as the Congress Bridge Bats. This nest is estimated at 1.5 million Mexican free-tail bats. Each night from around mid-March to early November, the Congress Bridge Bats bats emerge from under the bridge to blanket the sky as they head out to forage for food. This event has turned into one of the most amazing and uncommon tourist attractions in Austin Texas. The most amazing bat flights are throughout hot, dry August nights, when several columns of bats emerge. During a rainy season (uncommon in Austin), there are more bugs out and the bats do not have to leave as early to forage for food and you might not view as many bats. If you're on a boat searching for at the bats, the contrast versus the evening sky assists show them better. There is a good spot to watch the bats along the Lady Bird Lake walking and bike trail simply East of the bridge on the South side of Lady Bird Lake. Lots of people will view them from the bridge above. Both areas can get extremely crowded and neither provides as excellent of an experience as enjoying it from the water on one of the trips listed below.
Capital Cruises Bat Watching Tours
Capital Cruises is home of the biggest electric paddle wheel boat in the nation and the now well-known Sunset Bat Watching excursion that uses an incredible view of the Congress Bridge Bats as they fly out overhead where the contrast against the night skyline helps them stick out. This tour fills nearly every night throughout bat season in some cases a couple of days ahead of time. Rates are $10 for adults, $8 for elders, and $5 for kids. You need to get here about 30 minutes before sundown to get on the boat and buying tickets beforehand is highly advised during peak summertime as they sell out nearly every night, consisting of weekdays.
Lone Star Riverboats Bat Watching Tours
Like Capital Cruises, Lone Star Riverboats also provides bat seeing tours along Lady Bird lake. Both companies provide weekend afternoon trips, however Lone Star likewise has a Friday night tour. Both companies tend to operate as roll over for the other particularly when one boat is scheduled for a personal occasion. The tours vary some, but the exact same terrific bat seeing from beneath the bridge in the comfort of a seat is offered here too. Ticket prices are $12 for grownups, $10 for elders, $7 for kids under 12, and children under 2 are free. This is a fantastic tour for the views of downtown and the Austin bats. I 'd suggest some water on hot summertime nights.
Live Love Paddle Kayak Bat Watching Tours
Kayaking on Lady Bird Lake with Live Love Paddle's bat enjoying trip is among our preferred methods to view the bats. The cool water of the Colorado river beneath you drops the temperature nearly 10 degrees. Plus the view of downtown at sunset can make for some magnificent pictures that are practically visit website as incredible as the bats themselves. Tours start at 1602 East Riverside Drive, cost $45 per person, and tandem boats are available. The minimum weight on bat-watching trips is 30 lbs and maximum weight is 275 lbs. That means THIS TOUR IS KID FRIENDLY. Tours begin prior to sunset so times differ with the season.
Your Biker Gang Bat Watching and Sunset Ride
Our good friends at Your Biker Gang have an unique trip devoted to bat watching. You get to travel around an electrical hog with some rad helmets and hip tour guide. They'll show you a few of Austin's best downtown websites and then swing over to view the bats as they fly East on their nighttime mosquito eating quest. This ride comes with complimentary treats, a special surprise, and boasting rights to show your good friends! Moody Theater, the Driskill Hotel, plus numerous cultural and historic sights, street murals!
Don't Miss the Yeti Flagship Store
Located straight across the street from the bats primary departure point is a shop with a different character than your typical retail outlet. Yeti was founded in Austin in 2006 and they chose this renowned crossway to open their first store front. The Yeti Flagship Store elevates the customer experience by motivating visitors to go out and check out the wild as it captures a core tenet of the brand name in 8,000 square feet. It's a gathering spot for locals and out-of-towners to take pleasure in a cold beer, listen to music, enjoy a film or gain from a pro. There's lots of merchandise to check out and buy and the store features an energy that is special to Austin and the Yeti brand name. Plus there's a bar on the side where you can buy a cold one! It's definitely worth coming by prior to or after your bat viewing experience.