ROCKSPRINGS— Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area is commemorating 50 years as a National Natural Landmark with a festival, and special bat and stargazing programs at the park. The celebration will run from 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. Friday Oct. 1 and continue from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday Oct. 2. Programming will vary each day but will end with an evening bat show. The bat shows will begin at 7 p.m. every evening.
The Devil’s Sinkhole is home to one of Texas’ largest colonies of Mexican free-tailed bats and is a National Natural Landmark.
A 50-foot wide shaft drops 140 feet into the cavern. The cavern itself has a diameter of over 320 feet and reaches 350 feet deep.
To protect this sensitive natural resource, visitors are not allowed to enter the cavern.
Bats are the main attraction, but not the only one. There are also nature walks, and birding tours through the 1,860-acre natural area.
Access to Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area is only by guided tour. Reservations are required. All tours begin at the Devil’s Sinkhole Visitor Center in Rocksprings.
The park is inviting a variety of partners including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Buffalo Soldiers, neighboring State Parks and national natural landmarks, bat groups, cave science groups and native tribes, just to name a few, to set up booths for the festival.
Nyta Brown, Superintendent of Old Tunnel State Park, will be giving two presentations about bats at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 1 at the Rocksprings School auditorium.
After the Oct. 2 bat viewing, the San Antonio Astronomical Association will be giving a stargazing program.
This year is also the International Year of Caves and Karst and Dr. George Veni, Executive Director, National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI) and President, International Union of Speleology (UIS) is also scheduled to make presentations and informative lead tours.
For more information about the event, call the park at 830-683-2287 or visit the Devil's Sinkhole events calendar on the TPWD website.
Bat Flight at the Devil's Sinkhole Rocksprings (Contributed/TPWD)
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