Buescher State Park, just north of Smithville, was formed through land donations from Emil and Elizabeth Buescher, their heirs, and the City of Smithville, with early development carried out by Civilian Conservation Corps companies in the 1930s using native stone. Opened in 1940, the park later lost 700 acres to a University of Texas research facility but remains linked to nearby Bastrop State Park by scenic Park Road 1. Its visitor facilities center on a lake, hiking trail, camping, and picnicking. Set in the Post Oak Savannah and partly within the Lost Pines, it is known for diverse wildlife and for the 2015 Hidden Pines fire that burned much of its pine forest.