Old Tunnel State Park, Fredericksburg

4.5

#3 of 8 in Parks in Fredericksburg

State Park · Hidden Gem · Nature / Park

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Old Tunnel State Park is a railroad tunnel of the Fredericksburg and Northern Railway, which ceased operations in 1942. The property came under the care of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and was officially made a state park in 2012. It is located halfway between Fredericksburg and Comfort on Old San Antonio Road. Since the shut down of the railway, the tunnel has become a bat cave, hosting over 3 million Mexican free-tailed bats and 3000 Cave myotis bats. The bats emerge at sunset during the months of May through October, and viewing is open to the public.
At 16.1 acres, it is the smallest state park in Texas.

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Old Tunnel State Park reviews

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439 reviews

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4.6

By Tina L

I would recommend stopping at this neat place. There is not a lot to do here. You walk down to where the tunnel is. There are stairs, but it is a good hike if you are not used to being active. It.... more

I would recommend stopping at this neat place. There is not a lot to do here. You walk down to where the tunnel is. There are stairs, but it is a good hike if you are not used to being active. It.... more »
By SteveP999Tx

We were looking for a time filler on a Monday night that wasn't real expensive and was something different. Went on a Monday night in late September. It is free during the day and it looked like a.... more

We were looking for a time filler on a Monday night that wasn't real expensive and was something different. Went on a Monday night in late September. It is free during the day and it looked like a.... more »

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By Lone Star Birding

This park might be small but don't let that stop you from visiting! The tunnel was once used as a train route and now hosts up to three different species of bats. The most numerous species being the Mexican Free Tailed Bat. During our visit the estimated number of Mexican free tailed bats was about one million but reaches up to 3 million later in the year. The presenter was very knowledgeable, interesting, and took questions after. I would highly recommended visiting this park and reserving a spot to see the bats leaving the tunnel in the afternoon!

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By Francisco Leung

We came in December when it was about 75°F and we didn't stay until dusk. So, we didn't see any bats. One of the employees said that most bats already migrated south. We enjoyed a pleasant but short hike. The main trail was not difficult for the average hiking enthusiast, but there were some other trails with varying degrees of difficulty that we didn't try. The steepest part was climbing up and down the stairs leading to the view of the tunnel.

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