Old Tunnel State Park

September 29, 2021

We had intended to include Old Tunnel State Park as part of our April trip to Fredericksburg, but visiting Enchanted Rock and LBJ Ranch State Park and Historic Site that week made for a busy enough trip. It was also a little bit too early in the year for Old Tunnel's biggest draw. Instead, we planned another, shorter weekend getaway for the middle of May.

We set back out for Fredericksburg just after work on a Friday evening, and stopped by Prometheus Pizza to pick up a couple of pies for dinner. Prometheus does some great work putting out awesome Neapolitan-style pizza. We got a Roxanne pizza and a Galatea, as well as a Caesar salad and Panna Cotta. Everything we had was super delicious and we'll definitely be going back the next time we're in the area.

The Airbnb we rented last time that we loved so much was already booked, so I found another one that was a 7 minute drive from Old Tunnel State Park. I must not have paid too much attention when I booked it because I didn't realize until we arrived that it didn't have internet or television! But it was a beautiful little 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom cabin at the top of a hill overlooking lovely the Hill Country, about a 30 minute drive from Fredericksburg off of Old San Antonio Road. Deer and horses roamed all around us and we were blessed once again with some beautiful weather for what became a romantic off-the-grid weekend.

On Saturday morning we went by Nury's for some breakfast. We lucked into a table outside on their patio, with entertainment provided by the folks at the tables next to us, who were heavily pre-gaming for their Fredericksburg winery tours. There was a threat of rain in the forecast, but it held off through the middle of the day, so we decided to check out Old Tunnel State Park right after breakfast, while it was still dry and light outside.

Here are some pictures from around our lovely little Airbnb:

Just over 16 acres in size, Old Tunnel State Park is the smallest state park in Texas. Its namesake is an abandoned railroad tunnel, which serves as the park's main feature. The tunnel was built in 1913 as part of the San Antonio, Fredericksburg and Northern Railroad, in an attempt to connect Fredericksburg to the rail line that ran between San Antonio and Kerrville. The rivers and hills of the area proved to be difficult and expensive geological challenges to overcome, and the project accumulated a high amount of debt. Within a year, the railroad went into receivership. In 1917 the railroad came out of receivership under a new company name: the Fredericksburg and Northern Railroad. It operated for a few decades, barely achieving solvency, and was eventually abandoned in 1942. Soon after, its tracks were pulled up and salvaged for the war effort. The tunnel, dug through 920 feet of solid limestone, is pretty much all that remains of that railroad effort.

We arrived at the park a little after noon. The parking lot sits at the top of the hill into which the tunnel was dug. The view from the park entrance across the Hill Country is lovely. A walk down some steps gets you to the mouth of the tunnel (which is closed off to visitors), and the trailhead for the half-mile nature trail. We spent about 30 minutes walking this trail, which was a gentle set of loops through live oaks, ashe junipers, and hackberry plants. It wound up being a beautiful little day hike, but we were keeping an eye on the weather. If the rain held off we would be able to come back to watch the bat show.

After walking the park, we didn't quite want to head back to the Airbnb, so we drove a couple minutes up Old San Antonio Road to check out what looked like a little roadhouse bar we had passed on the way in. It's a spot called Bankersmith, and it seems to be an event space with a saloon and dance hall. On this particular day they had a Longhorn Round Up & Steak Fest. There were longhorns mulling about for a photoshoot, a petting zoo area with goats, pigs, a donkey, and some very aggressive turkeys and ducks, live music, steak dinners, jewelry vendors, and a VIP cigar smoking area. Overall it was an odd event to wander into.

After enjoying a couple beers and visiting with the Bankersmith donkey, we headed back to our Airbnb to rest, read, have lunch, and keep an eye on the weather. The rain that was in the forecast held off, and as it got to be evening we headed out to have dinner. Our plan was to eat at Alamo Springs Cafe just outside Old Tunnel State Park, but they were closed. We instead ran into town and got a couple of burgers from Sonic, then headed back to the park for for the bat viewing.

Bat Viewing at the Old Tunnel

After its human abandonment, Mexican free-tailed bats (and some myotis bats) began occupying the tunnel during the summer months. Starting in May, these bats migrate North from Mexico and establish colonies throughout Central Texas, in places like Bracken Cave near San Antonio, Austin's Congress Avenue Bridge, and here at Old Tunnel State Park. Each night they leave the tunnel in a swarm, and travel out to feed (some going as far as 60 miles in a single night), and then return to the tunnel to sleep through the day. They migrate back South to Mexico for the winter starting in October.

The park has two viewing areas to watch the bat emergence each night. The Upper Viewing Area accommodates more people and is situated at the end of the parking lot on top of the hill, and the Lower Viewing Area, which sits next to the mouth of the tunnel, at the level at which bats start flying out. Advanced reservations are required to see the bats, and we had tickets for the Lower Viewing Area that evening. A sign at the entrance said that we could anticipate an 8:34 PM bat emergence, so long as it wasn't raining.

The bat viewing was a great experience and something everyone should participate in (and take your kids to!) at least once. The volunteer who sat with us had been volunteering at the park for over a dozen years and was extremely knowledgable, not only about the history of the park, but the behavior of the bats. There were four visitors (including ourselves) attending the viewing, and he was able to answer every question we had for him about the bats.

The bats started coming out exactly at 8:34 PM on the dot, just like the sign near the parking lot had said. It was a couple of them at first, but then a steady stream, like a dark mist just visible in the evening light, as thousands and thousands of bats emerge from the tunnel, gaining altitude in a counter-clockwise vortex just below where we sat. I've been on the Colorado River a couple of times to watch the bats come out from under the Congress Bridge, but it was a completely different experience sitting just feet away from this emergence. The drive out from Austin, the beautiful weather, the visit with the Bankersmith donkey, and the $5 reservation for the bat show -- it was all so worth it and so cool.