Getting tired of the parks and trails in Austin, we looked east to Bastrop for something new. Buescher State Park, next door to Bastrop State Park, had started taking reservations. For five dollars a person we were promised about five miles of hiking. With reservations made and confirmation emails received, we headed over.
We were greeted by a friendly park ranger (as every one I’ve met has been) whose jokes I’m sure were hilarious but hard to hear from under a mask. The ranger asked our name, looked for it on the clearly visible bulletin board, and confidently stated our reservation wasn’t there. I questioned, asked about a reservation I saw on the board under my middle name, and asked for kindness and understanding. The ranger listened to me, checked a second time, but was still quite confident that my reservation was not there. I quietly checked my confirmation email then a bit quieter informed the ranger my reservation was for two days from then. One more misheard joke later and a U-turn out of there, we needed a new trail to hike.
We did some searching from the nearby Buc-ee’s parking lot and found the Colorado River Refuge. It was a couple minutes drive away and promoted three miles of trails along the Colorado River. Well, let’s see what this is all about.
With expectations lowered slightly from the state park, we truly were delighted with what we found. We parked by a river put-in where people were setting up picnics and wading in the shallow water. We found the trailhead close by and began on a very well maintained trail with beautiful tall trees. There were markers pointing out the different types of plants and trees since this part of the trail is used for nature classes.
The trail became less maintained and more overgrown as we went but still easily navigable. We passed just a couple other hikers and one volunteer actively making improvements to the trail. We got a couple good views of the river but also a couple decent views of the road that was never too far away. If this trail was in Austin, I’m sure we’d visit it many more times. It’s a convenient and free hike with a decent balance of nature and seclusion. Exactly what you want in a short town hike.
We later went back to Buescher State Park with reservations for the correct day and enjoyed all the state park had to offer. But we didn’t leave Bastrop disappointed on either trip.