Home to Texas’ capital and dozens of local hot spots, South Congress is also home to 1.5 million Mexican free-tailed bats, nestled under the bridge, which have become an iconic symbol of Austin! And there are only a handful of months left to see them this year!
Updated July 2025
WORLD’S LARGEST URBAN BAT COLONY
The South Congress bats are actually the world’s largest urban bat colony, and it’s a mostly female population! From late Spring to mid-fall, you can see these beauties wake up and fly from under the bridge at sunset each night, but their peak season is late July to early September! SO now’s the time to come watch these hundreds of thousands of bats pour out of the bridge and fly over the lake!
WHEN TO SEE THE BATS
The best time to see the bats fly is right at sunset, but the nightly display can take place anywhere in the range of 7:30- 9:00 p.m. The beautiful display can last up to 45 minutes as the bats exit the bridge for the evening. But to get a good spot, we highly recommend arriving early to find parking and grab a great spot for viewing!
People typically start lining up at Congress Bridge or finding a spot off the trail as early as 7! So be sure to get there early for a neat spot, bring some water to stay cool, and catch this insanely cool Austin show before the bats prepare to migrate back to Mexico for the colder months!
