** Well! A year flew by fast! Here’s hoping my memory will help me catch up.**

During our September visit to ETX, we pit stopped at Buescher State Park for two nights and had the opportunity to day trip Bastrop State Park just 12 miles away via a scenic park road. It was a beautiful, hilly, winding drive along a ridge and the forest’s comeback from wildfires ten years ago made for a very unique landscape. The wildfires destroyed much of Bastrop State Park’s “Lost Pines” and threatened it’s historic CCC structures. While TPWD has made great strides in reforestation and restoring facilities, much of the park was still closed. And since we opted to take the scenic route instead of exiting Buescher and entering from the highway, we only made it as far as the trailhead parking on the far side of the park before the through road was closed. But the park is quite small and their alert system was very thorough, so we had a hiking route planned to hit all the major sights.

The start of the trail was entertaining and fun with small hills, bridges and switchbacks. Shade was lacking since there were few tall tree survivors.

We made our way past some beautiful campsites in a valley that showcased what the entire park once looked like, then up on the ridge past some pull through sites.

Once in the day use area, we scoped out the exquisite cabins. Seriously, they were a kind of craftsmen style with tall ceilings, wood floors, elaborate trimwork…. glamping for sure! Coupled with the cabins were the most stunning bathhouse facilities with incredibly cold air conditioning. I definitely appreciated the addition of a dishwashing station!

From there, we strolled past the CCC built refectory, swimming pool (closed for the season) and former golf pro shop. The golf course was open until 2015, now the golfcart paths are incorporated into the hiking trails.

Our final stop was park headquarters where we officially checked in (haha) and enjoyed some ice cream. We had now travelled the entire park! Time to head back the way we came! Not the kids favorite thing to hear, but they managed. They liked the hilly trails more than flat sidewalk and road hiking.

Bastrop is a beautiful park with dozens of creature comforts available. There’s many points of interest to enjoy between the old history and the more recent history. However the park is somewhat small, the campsites lack privacy and the proximity to highway 71 makes for constant road noise. We would likely still choose the more “dated” neighbor, Buescher State Park, for our camping needs. But that Blue Bell at Bastrop headquarters sure did hit the spot. 😁

-Lindsay