South Congress "bat bridge" (loans, construction, live)

[Mckellyb]

We went, last night, and I have a few recommendations.

1. Don't do this on a weekend night, if you can avoid it. Man, was it crowded. There had to be 500 people out there.

2. While the bridge is a good place to view them, the north bank, behind the Radisson, is pretty good, too, and you can go under the bridge before they start flying, and hear them just a squeaking away.

3. I found they started flying 8 minutes after official sundown, which is later than you may expect. This is one, and only one, measurement.

4. You can't really see the flight from the TGiFriday's outdoor dining area.

5. If, like us, you're at least somewhat crippled in the walking department, #2 might require planning, a cane, or something, as it's a solid 40 steps to the walk/bike path which runs along the river. Even with canes and plenty of time, it wasn't easy for us, especially as my wife pretty much relies on use of a handrail, me, or both. A crowd makes this rather difficult.

6. Related to the middle part of #5. If you bring children, make absolutely certain they don't wander into the path of runners/bicyclists. This path is relatively heavily used, and while the bike folk were really, really good about watching for people, there was one 2 or 3 year old who wandered out from behind a baby carriage, and had the dude not been near-stopped, already, the kid might have been roadkill. Mom and dad were elsewhere...at least in mind.

7. Parking. You may have a hike, as while you don't want to wait for 45 minutes, like we did, if you get there close to flight time, there won't be any parking for blocks in any direction. Fortunately for us, I can put pretty much any vehicle any where which is physically large enough for it to fit. There is construction in front of the Radisson right now, which aided immensely, as there was a 'space' nobody seemed to want to use, but hey, the Lexus has AWD...I'm there, dude.

8. If you have a pair of binoculars, bring 'em.

The bats fly out from under the bridge in waves. A few hundred will fly out, and after they've gotten away, it'll be 30 seconds before another will leaves. It's as if those further inside the 'cave' must move into the take-off area.

A neat thing to see, honestly.

[newrrmom]

WE really enjoyed the tours by boat, no stress and a little history, great for visitors!

[atxcio]

I took the boat tour with some family who were in town last week. First time I've ever done it, and I've lived here 19 years.

It was pretty good, the guide/driver was moving the boat around for different views and photo ops. The weather was comfortable at that time of the evening, and no bugs (probably because of the bats)... anyway, I too was suprised at how crowded it was. You should really make a reservation. And this was on a weekday! Parking is almost non existant near the boat areas -- you'll likely have to walk a distance. But this wasn't too much of a problem.

Also, LoneStar Riverboats is supposed to be getting their new "big" boat sometime this month. It will have A/C and a much larger seating capacity than the old one. That should be a pretty nice way to watch the bats.

[readymade]

Something to keep in mind: the bats don't always fly. I was given to understand that they flew every night. When I was there last August... nothing. I was out there for HOURS waiting, which was a bummer but I guess I can't expect nature to keep to a schedule, heh.

Oh, and also? Bring bug spray. My husband gotten eaten alive.

Afterwards, we went for a drink at (I THINK) TGI Fridays (or maybe a Chili's, I'm not sure). They have an outdoor balcony overlooking the bridge. It might be a nice place to see the bats. The people who worked there were super nice, too.

[Mckellyb]

TGiFridays. You can't see from that balcony. We went up there to see if they had NTN trivia after the bats left, and it's really too far away.

Oh, and they don't have trivia, either.

[readymade]

Well, after posting, I decided to give it another go and this time do a boat tour. Any suggestions on a company? I saw "Loanstar Riverboats" above, and found "Capital Cruises" online. They're both $8/person.

Has anyone used these companies? Are there any others you'd recommend? Thanks!

[atxcio]

Lonestar riverboats has at least some parking (small area just near the docks). You might call to see when they will actually get their new big boat, if you are lucky you might be on one of the first few rides. I didn't try Capital Cruises, so I don't know what they are like.

One thing to remember is that you can BYOB / soft drinks... the cruises for the bats are over an hour, you might consider bringing your own refreshments.

[Mckellyb]

After seeing a few folks out there in kayaks, I regret selling the inflatable one, which was still a pretty amazing 'boat', we used to have, as it'd be near perfect for going out there and 'hanging out'.