Fredericksburg Bat & Halloween Festival

Ready to see 3,000 Mexican free-tailed bats at Old Tunnel State Park head back home for the year?! Depending on weather and the bats themselves, you may get the chance to see exactly that! Come enjoy the fall weather in Fredericksburg Texas! For one weekend each year, the sleepy town of Bankersmith, Texas (a few miles from the Old Tunnel State Park Bat Tunnel) throws a family friendly Halloween Party and becomes the center of the Bat Universe. Usually held the last weekend in October, this casual Bat Festival draws visitors from all corners of the country to celebrate the bats, pecan, and pumpkins. A FREE hay ride and huge pumpkin patch for the kids and a Halloween Contest for all age groups. Plenty of farm animals to pet and feed. Food and drink concessions abound, and even a Hay Ride for kids and adults alike.

From May through October, the abandoned railroad tunnel at Old Tunnel State Park is home to more than 3 million Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasilienses mexicana) and 3,000 cave myotis (Myotis velifer) bats. During this time visitors can watch the amazing sight as the bats emerge nightly from the tunnel in a huge fluttering upward spiral just as the sun begins to set. Visitors can choose from three options for viewing the Spectacular emergence:

1. from the upper viewing area

2. by participating in a lower viewing area tour

3. Make Reservations for a Special Group Tour (a GREAT Homeschool Experience!)

The park offers nightly educational programs Thursday through Sunday that provide guests with a better understanding of the life, history and ecology of the bats. Be sure to take a pair of binoculars for the best viewing of the bats in flight. To get the latest emergence time information call, 866-978-2287.

The park offers nightly educational programs Thursday through Sunday that provide guests with a better understanding of the life, history and ecology of the bats. Be sure to take a pair of binoculars for the best viewing of the bats in flight. To get the latest emergence time information call, 866-978-2287.

Visitors to the Old Tunnel State Park can participate in a variety of recreational and wildlife-viewing opportunities on the Old Tunnel nature trail which is open year round. The trail is less than half a mile long and visitors can enjoy it from sunrise until it closes (closing times vary throughout the year based on bat emergence time). Monday through Wednesday evenings, May through October, the trail and lower viewing area are not open to the public. On Thursday through Sunday evenings, the trail is open to those visitors who pay admission to view the bats at the lower viewing area. The Old Tunnel Trail is primitive and steep in some places. Be sure to take your own drinking water and snacks. Pets are NOT allowed.

Hikers can view of the tunnel from the trail, but entrance into the tunnel is strictly prohibited to prevent disturbance of the bat colony, and for the safety and well-being of visitors.

Dates Open: Open year-round from sunrise to sunset for general use. Bat viewing nightly May-October. The trail to the lower viewing area is closed each evening.

Monday through Wednesday evenings the trail and lower viewing area are not open to the public.

On Thursday through Sunday evenings, the trail will only be open to those visitors who pay admission to view the bats at the lower viewing area. For the most up-to-date emergence information, call the toll-free information line at

1-866-978-2287

Please note that we have a no refund policy. This is clearly stated on our website: https://thebestoftexas.org/

If you are not able to attend the event anymore, for any reason, we'll gladly change your ticket to any future event.