Buescher State Park

Buescher State Park is a state park located just north of Smithville, Texas. The park consists of 1016.7 acre of public land donated to the state by Mr. Emil and Mrs. Elizabeth Buescher, as well as the City of Smithville.

History
Between the years 1933 and 1936, Mr. Emil and Mrs. Elizabeth Buescher deeded 318 acre of land to the State of Texas. After Emil Buescher's death, his heirs donated 318 acre more. The rest of the parkland was acquired from the city of Smithville.

Companies 1805 and 1811 of the Civilian Conservation Corps built many of the park facilities between 1933 and 1939 using native stone to better blend with the surrounding landscape.

When it opened in 1940, the park was 1738 acre. In 1967, the Texas Legislature transferred 700 acre to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center for use as a research facility, currently known as the Virginia Harris Cockrell Cancer Research Center at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (Science Park).

In May 1957, Buescher State Park was selected to test a new type of low-cost overnight housing for park visitors.

The park is part of the Post Oak Savannah ecological region. A portion of its forest is in the Lost Pines ecosystem, the westernmost loblolly pines in the United States. A fire in 2015 burned most of the pines in this forest.

Features
The park features a 7.7 mi round trip hiking trail through the park's undeveloped area. There is also a small lake open for canoeing and fishing. Sunfish, catfish and bass occupy the lake year round, as well as rainbow trout during December and January when TPWD stocks them. Camping and picnicking areas are available.

Buescher is less than four miles (6 km) to the east of Bastrop State Park and the two are connected by Park Road 1.

Fauna
Over 250 species of birds have been spotted in the park throughout the year. Mammals include White-tailed deer, raccoons, opossums, bobcats, and armadillos.