Came by at Sunset to see the bats fly... Fly my children of the night and go eat all those fucking mosquitoes.

Located across from Lake Alice in Gainesville, the UF bat houses are something to experience at least once for sure. You should arrive approximately 10 minutes before sunset. There is a decent size parking lot right there. There are a couple benches if you arrive early or you can bring your own chairs. Right around dusk, out come thousands of bats just streaming out of the holes in both houses. Literally making a trail in the sky as they go out to feed for the night. Definitely a cool experience and highly recommend a visit to this free gem in Gainesville. read more

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The Bat House experience was amazing! I was in awe of the number of nays that funneled through the sky like a mini tornado. It was worth the time that I waited. I found a parking spot easily, took a folding chair, and found a nice spot to wait. They flew right over my head, toward the West. Don't miss it if you are in the area. They began to fly a few minutes after sunset. read more

Amazing to see hundred of thousand bats flying at sun set . If you want to see them in action get there before sun set . Barcardi has paid for these bat homes and most bats there are Brazilian type however there are others . Amazing to watch in flight , kind of reminded me of the movie the birds Are coming . Grateful to have seen this wonder . This is a project of UF university . read more

The Bat House - Active Life Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

This is a great place to walk around and chill out and watch the bats. There's parking there and you can walk around. I really like the environment but I just lucked out because the bats didn't come out that night! read more

Most amazing thing I think I have ever seen! It's like clock work. Check sunset time. They come out 15 mins after that. Definitely recommend! read more

I'm sure people don't come to Gainesville to see the bat houses. But if you're in Gainesville and don't come, you are missing out on an experience. Bats aren't those creepy, nasty, scary things you've been taught all these years. They are a real marvel! And to watch them at dusk emerge from these 3 huge bat houses as they begin their search for food (bugs, mosquitoes...) is something you'll likely not witness again.Tens of thousands of bats swarming the night sky. Eerie and incredible. You are completely safe, they aren't going to swarm at you or peck your eyes out. An awesome sight. As impressive as this is, the real Mecca for watching bats is still the Congress Street bridge in Austin where there are hundreds of thousands of migrating bats that naturally nest under the bridge and launch at dusk. Wow. Come watch. It's amazing. Be there at dusk for the best show. read more

Check out Batman's buddies! For FREE entertainment, this is pretty cool. An odd experience unto its own. Come here 20 minutes before the sun sets (I cheated and found the estimated sunset time on weather.com. Lol.) You will not be disappointed. According to the website, there are 100,000 bats in here. Whoa! But at dusk, they don't look like bats at all. Rather, they come out like a flowing stream of water flying to the heavens -- for at least 8 minutes, the stream did not stop! Just flowing towards the sky, exiting from all four sides of the open building structure where they sleep at daytime. And they look like birds, not bats! Simply unreal. I am putting this on my to-do-again list when I return here with my son. I'm sure he would enjoy it. I know I'll definitely remember it. This bat house is located across from Lake Alice on Museum Rd, between Radio Rd and Corry Circle. You can park in the parking for the Student Agricultural Gardens area. read more

I grew up in Gainesville and drove by the Bat House plenty of times, but ever stopped to see them come out at night. Thanks to Julie A.'s review, I have finally been able to attend and appreciate this little Gainesville weirdness for the first time with my family. I was not able to get any good photos of it happening, but it does go on for a long time. The bats come out in a constant stream for over 10 minutes and fly over Lake Alice. We went on a Saturday night, so it was pretty crowded with people, but we were able to park. The sign says that there are over 500,000 bats in the small house, which I did not believe at first. But, once I sat there and watched them just keep coming out over a long period of time I realized that it might be even more than the original count. They are very small like black puffs with tiny wings, and they are insect eating. There was only one hawk out there that waits for the bats to come out, so he can eat them. So, when you see the hawk perch on the fence underneath the house you know that they are about to fly out. read more

We walked up the new sidewalk that goes towards the bat houses to get close to the bats. They start coming out right at dusk. They come out in droves! They are very quick and nimble. They are fun to watch and parking is free. Lots of people come out to watch. read more

The Bat House - Bats are leaving the bat houses. - Active Life Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

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Very cool experience. Kinda smelly for my liking but someone had some tiger balm or vicks and it helped with the smell. When they first come out you barely notice them because they are so small! They looked like butterflies! Then more come flying out and you start to feel little rain drops. That's them peeing on you! How fun! Good thing I came prepared with umbrella and towel after reading another review haha. Arrive early because of limited parking. While you wait, be sure to read about the history and facts on the bulletin. Very interesting info on there. read more

The Bat House - Three houses - Active Life Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I decided to check this out because it sounded kinda interesting online. But, wow. This was way cooler than I expected! The bats definitely did not disappoint! I don't think anything I write here can really capture what the experience was really like, so I'd just recommend you check it out yourself. It doesn't take a big time commitment, but it's a pretty awe-inspiring experience for all ages. When I was there, the assembled group included everyone from toddlers to elderly folks (there are a couple benches for people who need to sit) and all ages in between - and we were all ooo-ing and ahh-ing simultaneously with the same amount of wonder. Even the teenagers! If you're driving over, I'd recommend coming early (at least 20 minutes before sundown, depending on if it's a weeknight or weekend) because the adjacent parking lot is pretty small. There's some nice nature-y scenery across the street that you can wander around while you wait. Also, if you're sensitive to bugs, maybe wear pants / long sleeves (I'm not sure if bug spray is recommended because I don't know if it would bother the bats). That being said, mosquitos love me, but I just kept moving around while I waited and was fine - and then when the bats started coming out I was so entranced that someone could've been pelting me with tennis balls and I don't think I would've noticed. read more

We love visiting the bat house!!! Such a neat experience to watch the bats fly out at dusk, nearly 400,000 of them. Get there before dusk and walk across the street to Lake Alice to see the gators and the turtle. Oh yes, and the beautiful Baughman Center. read more

The Bat House - The bats making their nightly exodus. - Active Life Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

This is one of the coolest things about Gainesville. Bats. If you haven't checked this out, do it. Soon. At dusk the bats fly out and you can just see swarms of little black fluttering specks. It is magical. There are thousands swimming in the sky, painting the world with speckles. Some even whiz by your head, or plunge into the water behind you. It is perfect for kids, or date night, or any night. Just go. I have also found that there are many bats at Depot Park at night - so check that out too! read more

The Bat House has to be one of the best free entertainments in Gainesville! I finally came to see the bats fly out at sunset, and I was not disappointed! I think they number somewhere in the thousands and it seems they all fly out at once, some swooping close to your head. Pretty neat experience. A must for any Gainesville visitors or residents. Did I mention it's free? read more

Even if you're not really night creature type of person, this is still something you should experience. Every day, when the sun sets, thousands upon thousands bats fly out from their bat house to roam Gainesville to find smaller night creatures to eat. Not gonna lie, it's kind of creepy because of the sounds they make and how close they seem to be... It's kind of stinky too because you can smell the guano... Yes, eww -- but like I said, still a cool experience. read more

Who would've thought that seeing hundreds of thousands of bats fly out at dusk would bring me to tears? I can't guarantee it'll be the same emotional experience for you, mostly because I'm a giant ball of feelings, but there's no way you can experience this and not be amazed in some way. I was in town with a friend, and in trying to figure out what else I could do in Gainesville once he left, he suggested the Bat House. Now, being a former Emo angsty teen and forever My Chemical Romance fan, bats were always a symbolic animal in that subculture and I thought I was hardcore for liking them. Now, being a finely aged emo, I can appreciate them for the cute little flying rats they are. So I stuck around Gainesville, and headed over close to dusk. A small crowd starts to gather around sunset, and you can hear the bats start to chirp (or whatever bats do). Once it's dark enough for them, but thankfully not too dark for pictures, they fly out from under the houses in giant clouds and it's really an amazing sight. They smell a little and there's definitely something wet falling from them, but who cares- it was a creepy and beautiful nature experience that you don't get to do much around Florida and I would recommend it if you're ever passing through here. Especially if you love bats as much as Gerard Way and I do. read more

The Bat House - Active Life Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

At sundown, the bats come out, like clockwork. It's awesome! What else can you say? They even have 2 little houses with bat symbols on them, where the bats live. We got there half an hour before sundown to get some of the few park bench seats. But really, if we go again in the future, we will get there later: you can enjoy it just as much standing. And it's FREE! The only drawback is the parking: if you go on a weekday, the University of Florida security officers will ticket your car for parking in their lots (it is UF property). So go on a weekend when parking is open to everyone and free. It's a great place to take your girl for a walk. The trees and pond there are just beautiful. Then the bats will add a nice goth touch to your date. I would not advise making this a main attraction for your day, but more of a sideshow to the gorgeous nature trail in the area, if you happen to be near there near sundown. read more

One of my favorite Gainesville attractions! Everyone I bring here loves it, even those who don't want to get up close and friendly with little flying mammals. I love coming by about half an hour before sunset, walking around Lake Alice to say hi to the gators and turtles, then settling by the fence near the bat house as it's getting dark. Bringing bug repellant is a good idea, and don't sit directly in front of the house if you're worried about guano. The sight of thousands of bats flying out over the lake in one giant, snaking cloud is just as awesome as it sounds! And after standing outside for about 15 mins, you'll appreciate that they're on on their way to eat up all of the mosquitos that have been biting you since you stepped out of the car. A good way to start or end your evening. read more

This was a seriously incredible experience! I suggest wearing a hat and possibly bringing some wipes if you want to sit up very close (like my kids did) because you may get a little guano on you otherwise (one person in our party of 5 got a little bit it was honestly no big deal) read more

Reading the other reviews, you would think this is gonna be some life altering event and based upon those reviews, my family and I drove over to Museum Road to check this spectacle out. Having lived here years ago, I wanted to show them Lake Alice and the gators that reside there anyways and if it hadn't been for the gators across the street, this would have been a complete waste of time. We got there early and as the crowd began to assimilate against the fence we too claimed a spot, and as the sun set, just a bat here or there, but no mass exodus as we had read about. The only flying creatures we witnessed at this point were the numerous gnats who harrassed us unmercifully even the few who managed to fly straight into my eye! And then it happened! The big moment! A group of bats made their way out of the house and made a b line straight for the trees and across the street. Now if you are extremely easily entertained, possibly an individual who has lived their entire life in a box, then by all means head over to see the bats. But if you are anything like myself, wife, and three kids, or the other 50 people who were there on this particular evening and made there way back to their cars before the "show" had even finished, then don't be upset if you somehow "forget" to stop by the bat houses. read more

We got there very early, an hour before sunset, because we weren't sure exactly what time the bats would emerge - they emerge right after the sun goes down. So we spent the hour strolling around at the lake across the street, lake Alice. We saw some alligators and turtles, low hanging Spanish moss, lovely spot. Once people started congregating against the wooden fence, we headed over to hold our spot and waited with anticipation. As we waited, dozens of people crowded around. It was fun, we were excited and everyone seemed anxious for the bats to emerge. Two red tailed Hawks were anxious as well. Beautiful, big Hawks waiting for their dinner. Finally, one bat, then another, then, slowly, another. Finally batpocalypse began and it was so cool! Totally worth it. Beautiful to see the bats flowing out in swarms. Great time. read more

it is pretty awesome for kids and adults. everybody likes it. simple, educational, free. Parking on campus is typically free after 5 or so. very nice 30 min evening activity. read more