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Bastrop State Park, Bastrop, Texas. Hiking through an isolated stand of lost pine trees in south central Texas.

 

Due to a peculiarity of the soil and geography, a small patch of land measuring just a few square miles is home to a stand of pine trees just outside of Bastrop. While the pine trees are common farther to the east, this little anomaly sticks out like a sore thumb in the south central Texas plains and farmland. The area was turned into a state park in the 1930's, and improved by the CCC.

 

The Bastrop 'Lost Pines' State Park is on the edge of Bastrop, half an hour to the southeast of Austin. The park has plenty of spots for camping and weekend warriors, but one of the feature attractions of the park is a long, 8-mile-plus loop through the primitive backwoods section of the park. I visited the park on a late afternoon of March 22, 2008 - walking the full loop in about four hours into the fading sunset - just a peaceful and easy hike through the woods.

 

For more information: Bastrop State Park Official Website

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