Bastrop State Park
Cobwebs are always found in dirty corners.
– I don’t know but it was carved in huge letters across the fireplace mantel in our cabin
I’ve been to Bastrop State Park several times in my life. My family went camping there a few times when I was growing up, and I made a couple trips out after college. Just last October, Tessa and I went out for a day hike. I’ve seen it both before and after the 2011 fire, and it’s always held a special place in my heart. Nestled in the pine trees just outside of Austin, it’s a sweet little home base, a place to test out new equipment, go hiking, or just escape the city for a weekend.
From 1933 to 1935, the State of Texas acquired land for park usage in the Bastrop area from the city of Bastrop and private owners. Also starting in 1933, the National Park Service, the Civilian Conservation Corps, and the Texas State Parks Board (now the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department) collaborated to design and construct buildings and facilities in many Texas parks, including Bastrop and nearby Buescher. Companies 1805 and 1811 of the CCC built many of the park facilities between 1933 and 1939 using native materials. Their craftsmanship endures to this day, and because of it Bastrop State Park earned National Historic Landmark status in 1997. The park opened in 1937, and continued to add acreage over the years, now totaling 6,600 acres.
For this trip we did something that was totally new to me: we stayed in one of the old CCC cabins. Built in the 1930’s, the cabins are relics of and monuments to the Works Progress Administration.
We got to Bastrop State Park just before sunset on a Friday. It was an after hours check-in, but the park made it easy. They had our cabin key in an envelope taped to the bulletin board outside of the park headquarters, and I simply had to stop by HQ to pay and get my vehicle permit by 8:00 the next morning.
I don’t think I had even been to the cabin area prior to this trip. With about a dozen unique cabins of various sizes, some made of stone, others of wood (though all constructed from local, natural materials), it was like a cute little village in the pine trees.
The cabin was cozy as could be. Imagine a sort of U-shaped structure, where the left side of the U is longer than the right side. The left was the main bedroom, which had a full sized bed, a fireplace, and a dining table with two benches. The middle/bottom section of the U was the kitchen, which had a mini-fridge, microwave, sink, and a two burner electric stove. This was also where the front door was. In the right part of the U was the bathroom, which had a sink, toilet, and shower, and also a smaller bedroom with a twin sized bed. Both bedrooms had AC/heating units. We felt pretty sheltered from the elements.
By the time we unloaded the car and settled into the cabin, the sun had set. There was a fire pit with two Adirondack chairs behind the cabin, and a picnic table on the back porch where we hung up our string lights. I cooked dinner in the kitchen on the stove, saag paneer with mushrooms and onions sautéed in butter, while Tessa tended to our campfire outside.
In Town for the Morning
The next morning when I woke up, a fog had set over the park and our cabin looked eerie in the mist. I snapped some pictures and then headed to check in at park headquarters and then to the Bucee’s near the park entrance to grab a quick breakfast. I got us kolaches and coffee.
After breakfast, Tessa and I headed into town for a little bit. We went by the Eden East farm stand. Eden East used to be a restaurant and urban farm in East Austin that we went to for Valentine’s Day the last couple of years, but they moved out to Bastrop in late 2020. At their farm stand we picked up some kimchi, pickled carrots, and small packs of herbs and tea, then walked the property to see the produce they were growing. We also got to see Diesel, a cat who used to come hang out with us when we would dine at the old restaurant in Austin.
After Eden East we went to Bastrop’s historic downtown district to check out Astro Record Store and shop for a couple records. We wound up grabbing (Can You) Feel It! by James Brown, Dance the Ska by Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, and Sempre é Carnaval by Joel de Almeida, Orlando Dias and more.
Purple Trail Hike
It got to be about mid-day and we wanted to get some hiking in before it got too hot, so we headed back to the park and set out for the purple trail. This is part of the larger Lost Pines Loop, but just we hiked out to Fehr’s Overlook Trace. In all it was about 2.2 miles that we hiked in just under an hour. The weather was still so beautiful when we finished hiking that I insisted we drive Park Road 1C, the beautiful little road that connects Bastrop and Buescher State Parks.
We had lunch back at the cabin, sandwiches, carrots, and pimento cheese, then spent a good while in our hammocks. Other than some strong, gusty wind, it was a perfect afternoon to read and catch some fresh air while soaking up the sun. For dinner we heated up some chicken and vegetable soup that I had made back home, and lit another fire in the fire ring.
The next morning we packed up and headed back home. This trip was a little different than the last ones I wrote about, and since we stayed in the cabin I hardly call it camping. Not only was it cool to feel like we were lodging in a piece of history, but the cabin made everything so easy! No tent or mattresses or sleeping bags to fuss with, plus we had running water and a stove. It was super nice being able to easily shower in a private place after hiking or sitting around the fire. I do love tent camping, but this really was something else. I’ll definitely be heading back to Bastrop, and I can’t wait to explore some other cabins!
