Devil's Sinkhole Society

10/01/2024

Welcome to Paris Gill, who begins tomorrow as the Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area superintendent! It has been at least a decade since we had staff posted uniquely to the DSSNA.
Everyone in the Society is pleased!

09/26/2024

We are very sad to report that our truly exceptional park superintendent, a great man and good friend Ken Watson died yesterday morning.

All of us at his two parks, Kickapoo Cavern State Park and the Devil's Sinkhole State Natural Area will miss him a lot.

Funerary details are still pending.

Our condolences to all his family and friends.

09/22/2024

Note to bats: Lots of snacks along TX Hwy 41…

09/18/2024

Three Devil’s Sinkhole sunsets

09/18/2024

Part of Monday’s awesome Bracken cave show! Thanks to our hosts!

09/12/2024

We are happy to report that the bats have improved in numbers. As of tomorrow, September 13, we are reverting to standard bat tour prices: Kids 4-12, six bucks; Adults 13-64, fourteen bucks; and Seniors 65+, eleven bucks. The tour will meet at the Rocksprings Visitors Center at 6:30 P.M.
We had been seeing only a few hundred bats, but we are now seeing thousands. Bat numbers should continue improving as we move through September and October.

09/05/2024

Our Bats & Stars event is this Saturday!

The gate opens at 7, and you can go straight there if you’re using cash!

08/27/2024

Star Gazing at the Devil’s Sinkhole September 7

ROCKSPRINGS–The Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area will hold a combined bat emergence show and stargazing night September 7, 2024.

The stargazing will be run by the San Antonio Astronomical Association, and so there should be around five different astronomers each with their own special telescope or two for guests to experience the starriest night of the month.

Guests paying cash can go directly to the state natural area gate located on US Highway 377 roughly five miles north of the City of Rocksprings and two miles south of the intersection of US 377 and Texas Highway 41.

The cost to attend the “Bats and Stars” event is ten dollars for most guests and five dollars for youth aged 4-17.

The bats have been very low in numbers this year, but the cave swallows and owls have been helping to delight guests well.

Those wishing to pay by credit card should go first to the Rocksprings Visitors Center located on the Rocksprings town square.

For more information, call 830-683-2287 or email [email protected].

The volunteers of the Devil’s Sinkhole Society provide tours to the national natural landmark five days a week. Tours to see the cave, nature walks, the famous evening bat tour, and the rare morning bat return tour are available now.

08/12/2024

We still don't have enough bats to charge full bat tour price, but we are getting close! Bats are rising in numbers, coming out of the great cave earlier and earlier, and the Great Horned Owl family that lives in the cave is VERY active.

Reserve a spot (Wednesday through Sunday open) at 830-683-2287. Email is [email protected]

08/05/2024

Mark your calendar for September 7. It's "Bats and Stars" at the Sinkhole.

08/05/2024

Evening bat tours are now starting at 7:15. We may shift to even earlier soon...
With bat numbers low, we are only charging 8 bucks, but we hope the numbers keep growing so we can charge our very reasonable full price.

Tours are held Wednesdays through Sundays. 10 AM and 1 PM day tours and nature walks and the evening bat tours are available now.

Call 830-683-2287 to reserve your tour.😀

08/02/2024

Bat numbers and bat emergence time have improved lately, though we can't justify charging full price yet ($8 versus $14). Hopefully, we will build, build, build those bat numbers. We are entering the main part of our bat season now, and we hope to have a good bat tornado going soon.

Also, get ready for our "Bats and Stars" event on September 7. The San Antonio Astronomical Association will be doing their annual visit, timed for best star viewing.

07/18/2024

07/14/2024

-Free Book Talk and Bat Tour-
You don’t want to miss this Texas author visit! Come join us at the library tomorrow at 4PM.

E.R. Bills will be sharing some of his favorite places and stories as he has traveled and researched Texas (with a special focus on what he has learned in our area). He will have copies of many of his books.

We have a copy of 100 Things To Do in Texas Before You Die to give away. Must be present to win!

And, the Devil’s Sinkhole evening bat tour Sunday night will be free for those who attend the book talk!

06/29/2024

Happy Fourth of July! 🎆🎇

06/28/2024

06/28/2024

DEVIL’S SINKHOLE SPONSORS TWO EVENTS

ROCKSPRINGS, TEXAS–The Devil’s Sinkhole Society, the Texas Parks Friends Group that provides tours of the Devil’s Sinkhole National Natural Landmark is sponsoring two special events during the month of July.
On Thursday, July 11, Star Party America will present a night sky show after the bat emergence at the Sinkhole. The gate to the Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area will open at 7 P.M. and guests may drive directly there. Adults 18 and over will be charged ten dollars and youngsters 4-17, five dollars. If paying with a credit card, please go by the Rocksprings Visitors Center (on the Rocksprings town square) prior to going to the state natural area.
The secret Devil’s Sinkhole gate is located five miles north of Rocksprings on US Highway 377. A large yellow banner will be on display to help guests find the gate.
As always, 830-683-2287 will connect you with the visitors center for more information.
On Sunday, July 14, the Gilmer Library, the top-rated small library in the United States, will cohost with the Devil’s Sinkhole Society a visit with celebrated and very entertaining author E.R. Bills. Bills is the author of 100 Things to Do in Texas Before You Die, 2nd Edition, of which visiting the Devil’s Sinkhole is number 36, and numerous other books full of Texas lore and mysterious stories. One other book he wrote includes the story of the “Bat Bomb,” a rarely remembered, but very weird story from World War Two.
The free presentation by Mr. Bills will begin at 4 P.M. at the famous library and guests will receive complimentary passes to the bat flight that night at the Devil’s Sinkhole.
Bat season is starting pretty slowly this year, but the new bat pups will be adults very soon, and, hopefully, this means Sinkhole bat numbers climb back to normal levels.
Tours of the Devil’s Sinkhole are provided Wednesdays through Sundays. Currently day cave visits and nature walks are available at 10 A.M. and 1 P.M. preferably; and evening bat tours are available at 7:30 P.M., a changeable time.
All regular tours begin at the Rocksprings Visitors Center on the Rocksprings town square. Reservations are recommended by calling 830-683-2287 or e-mailing [email protected].

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06/28/2024

On July 14th, author E.R. Bills will be at the Gilmer Memorial Library at 4 p.m.
Attendees will be given free passes for the Sinkhole tour that night.

06/27/2024

On July 11th we will be hosting a star party at the Devil’s Sinkhole

06/08/2024

Bats are still in low numbers, but we've had fun evening tours nonetheless. Last night, in addition to some bats and good Great Horned Owl activity, a very large porcupine paraded all across the seating area around the Sinkhole cave mouth. A guest got video and sent it to us, but we haven't been able to convert it to our software....yet.

05/27/2024

05/26/2024

The Great Horned Owl supervises the Sinkhole launch area.

05/26/2024

Tonight we have our first nighttime tour of the bat season. The bats are not in big enough numbers yet for us to charge full price and they're emerging from the cave about 8:45, so it's a bit dark.
We have some great great horned owl activity and lots of bird calls to enjoy.

05/17/2024

Dennis and Andrew went out to observe the Sinkhole Wednesday night since Austin Bat Radar had shown a bit more action than previously.
They observed from 7:30 onward.
One bat, probably a tricolor, arose around 8:10.
At 8:35 a male great horned owl (the father) came out of the cave.
He returned about five minutes later with a lizard in his beak.
He flew into the Sinkhole to an owlet on the south wall of the cave and fed the owlet.
Then he flew to the north wall of the cave and fed another owlet!
A bit later, Dennis and Andrew noticed an even bigger GH owl fly around the shaft of the cave, likely Mother owl.

About 8:45 the Dennis and Andrew started seeing freetail bats, zooming up in threes and fours.
By the time the volunteers left, at 9:15, Andrew guessed they'd seen maybe 200 freetails, but the darkness was excessive.

It's not quite enough bat show yet to start bat tours, but it is promising!

Lots of bird calls last night, especially whining owlets and bob whites.

Austin Bat Radar was pretty quiet today.

05/01/2024

A recent guest has left behind a very nice outdoorsy rain jacket at our Rocksprings Visitors Center. 830-683-2287 if it's you or you know to whom it belongs.