Natural Features in Texas

The Colorado at Bastrop

Nature·Bastrop County·Texas

This crossing is old — a ford on the Camino Real, the Spanish road between San Antonio and the Louisiana settlements, chosen because the river runs over a firm sand and gravel bottom here instead of the mud it carries further down. The banks are lined with bald cypress and sycamore, and the pines come down almost to the water, which is an unusual combination this far west. Below Austin the Colorado is a controlled river, its floods managed by a chain of dams, so the channel here is far steadier than it was for most of its history.

Getting there

30.1080, -97.3180

Locations are approximate and may be inaccurate, on private land, or otherwise inaccessible. Check before you travel.

Hear it from the road

Whistlestop tells you this story automatically when you drive past. No searching, no tapping, nothing to ask.

Download Whistlestop on the App Store