Buescher State Park

Type: Trail Rating: (4.19) Difficulty: (2.73) Solitude: (4.18) Length: 7.00 Miles Elevation Gain: 700 Feet ADAAccessible: N/A Interpretive Guide: No Dogs Allowed: Yes Bikes Allowed: No Cost: $3.00 More Information: More Info City: Smithville County: Bastrop

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Getting there: From Austin head east on Highway 71 and drive past Bastrop toward Smithville. Turn left north of Smithville and head north on FM 153 for half a mile and turn left into the park. After paying for park entrance drive past the ranger station and turn right onto Park Road 1E. Drive around the small lake and look for the brown signs that mark the trailhead on the right. Parking is on the opposite side of the road.

The Hikes: Buescher State Park is a sibling of the nearby Bastrop State Park. Despite its close proximity and the fact that it also features a portion of the Lost Pines the park tends to host fewer visitors. If you crave hiking solitude you can use this to your advantage.

The trail starts off at the waypoint "Trailhead" and heads in a northwest direction for about 1/3rd of a mile before coming to pipeline right of way. This pipeline right of way is none other than the Longhorn Pipeline that has been in the news as of late. During my hike the pipeline crews just so happened to be working in the area, though not immediately along the trail.

The trailhead resides at the back of the loop road that encircles the park lake.

Not wanting to give up the hike I continued to walk along the pipeline route and occassionally had to step over erosion control barriers. Off in the distance I could see some work being done on the pipeline even though it was Sunday. Thankfully after half a mile the trail proper continued again at the waypoint "Y-Right". After a short distance back into the forest I was able to leave the commotion behind me.

Buescher includes a portion of the mysterious Lost Pines.

The trail soon turns more to the north. Although it begins to come into contact with Park Road 1C this does not hamper solitude too much. Traffic along the road is light. On nice days bicyclists may outnumber drivers. The road connects Buescher State Park with its sister Bastrop State Park. The route is quite popular with cyclists.

Buescher State Park's shape somewhat resembles a gerrymandered Congressional district. One of the reasons for this can be found at the "Road Cross 1" waypoint. Here the trail crosses the entrance to the University of Texas cancer research facility. At some point in the past part of the park was set aside as a research campus. The remaining land snakes around this research park.

A half mile of the trail is along a pipeline right-of-way. During my hike this pipeline was under repairs, making for a less than natural experience.

To complete the full trail loop always choose the right fork in any split in the trail. Although Buescher shares many characteristics with its sibling park it does not include as many ponds, the Houston Toad's preferred mating grounds. However there is one pond along the trail visible at the waypoint "Pond".

Prior to my hike a strong storm had moved through the area and blown some trees down and weakened others. The quiet of the hike was shattered for a moment as one of the pines finally collapsed to the ground not too far off trail. Though the experience caused me to wonder about the structural integrity of some of the trees along the trail that I passed I realized that any danger was very remote and that my witnessing the event was in a sense a bit of luck.

All creek crossings are easily done. Some include a small footbridge to make the crossing even easier.

Contrary to what the official trail map states the road crossing at "Road Cross 2" does not traverse a dirt road. That is now paved. However, the road appears to be still be quite lightly used and crossing is not a problem.

The Lost Pines are one of the most interesting hiking areas in Central Texas.

Once across the road the most interesting portion of the hike begins. The terrain on the northwestern side of the park is more rugged and heavily forested. In some places the falling pine needles are so numerous that they hang in clumps like moss on smaller trees and bushes. The steeper terrain is cut by a number of small creeks in this portion of the park. The trail crosses many of the streams, most of which will be dry except during rains.

The rougher terrain, denser foliage and fewer park visitors probably account for the group of deer that I saw on the back end of the trail. I crouched down and remained silent trying to observe them for as long as possible. Playful screams from bicyclists on Park Road 1C caused them to make a hasty retreat farther away from the road.

Strong winds had knocked many trees down, including some across the trail. During my hike I heard another crash down not too far away.

The trail crosses Park Road 1C at the "Road Cross 3" waypoint and soon thereafter turns to the south. I turned right at the waypoint "T-Right" in order to extend the outer loop. Going left will rejoin the trail along the park road sooner. Much of the elevation gain is found in this portion of the hike. The hiker is propelled up and down ridges until the trail meets up again with Park Road 1C and very soon thereafter with the return route back to the trailhead.

During my hike on a pleasant Sunday I did not see one single other hiker on the trail. The only sign that anyone else was even out there was a wildflower book that I picked up on the way back to the trailhead, which I left at the lost and found desk of the ranger station. The book was not there on the way out, so someone MUST have been out there with me. Still, though I did not see other hikers I did see pipeline construction workers off in the distance and a few drivers and bicyclists along Park Road 1C. This hike provides ample opportunity for getting away from the crowds found on many area trails.

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by Laurence Parent
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