Ann W. Richards Congress Avenue Bridge Observation Deck

This was probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen! home to the largest urban bat colony in the world. I got there just in time for the show! It was 5:45pm and it was perfect. Stand on the bridge facing the south for a better view

Considering the current south shore plant/tree overgrowth (April 2024) I think THIS is the best place to stand when waiting for the bats to come out from under the bridge. Yes the bats begin to emerge on the south side first, but you don't need to see the *first* bats to see an impressive display. As it turns out, we didn't see a large group of bats this evening (it rained and was generally too cool), but we did see (and hear) some bats, and the trip to the bridge was worthwhile. We waited from 30 minutes before until about 50 minutes after sunset, then left. Austin has a lovely skyline! We walked here from our hotel near the convention center, along the Ann and Roy Butler Hike and Bike Trail. It was a very pleasant walk with lots of tree cover.

Nice meeting spot, and iconic location of the largest Mexican free tail bat colony in North America. See them fly at dusk at the southeast end of the bridge, below looking up when nightly guides of kayak and boat tours shine their red lights to see the flying bats. Check out "Austin bat refuge" online for nightly bat forecast.

The bat watching was crazy cool! Am jealous of those in Austin who get to watch. Nice bridge to watch the sunset.

The Ann Richard bridge, also known as the bat bridge in Austin Texas, is a great place to people and bar watch. When you walk under during the day you can hear them chirping, and then they take off in the evening. Cool painting by the observation deck.

One of the peculiar things to do while in Austin is waiting for sunset to see the famous bats come out in large groups as they make their nightly rounds. Unfortunately I wasn’t lucky enough to witness the large group but every night you at least see a few small groups underneath the bridge. Regardless though the walk along the river makes it worth it day or night. It is pretty hard to miss usually there will be a large group of people along the bridge waiting which gives you the feeling that you are in the right place. Even though I wasn’t as lucky I hope your trip to Austin gets you a glimpse of the bats.

Fun little place to see the Congress Bridge from below. You can definitely tell bats live there by the interesting smell as you approach.

It’s famous for bat watching and there are bats under the bridge, but we didn’t see them fly in October. You can walk to the bridge from capitol or park on the street near 2nd street or colorado street.