McKinney Roughs Nature Park in Cedar Creek, along the Colorado River east of Austin, preserves both varied natural habitat and evidence of long human use. In the Lost Pines region, its broken terrain brings together four ecosystems and supports rich wildlife, including more than 250 recorded bird species. Archaeological excavations uncovered fireplaces, tools, shells, and projectile points showing that prehistoric hunter-gatherers repeatedly camped here from about 2,100 to 850 years ago. The land later formed part of Windmill Ranch, remained with descendants of John Calhoun Wise’s family into the 1950s, and was acquired by the Lower Colorado River Authority in the 1990s before opening as a nature park in 1998.