The Stengl "Lost Pines" Biology Station
Click near the station for a closer look at the roads around the station.
Driving directions:
The Lorraine F. Wyer Residential Laboratory is located at 405 Old Antioch Road near Smithville, Texas about 15 min. (3.5 miles) off of Hwy 71. The Manager's Residence and Research Greenhouse are located at 401 Old Antioch Road.
From Austin (and points north/west): drive southeast on Hwy. 71, 9 miles past the intersection of 71/21 and 95 east of Bastrop and then Alum Creek, watch for a restaurant (La Cabaņa) and the Chevron station on the right side of the highway just before Smithville. Just past the restaurant, watch for KLBJ Road (Bastrop County Road 177) and signs to "Science Park" (a research unit of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, UT, Houston). Turn left onto KLBJ Road then make the immediate left onto CR 174 (also called Anne Powell Rd.) then follow the instructions "From Hwy. 71" below... Driving time from Austin is about 1 hour.
From Houston (and points south/east): drive northwest on Hwy. 71, past Smithville. Just past the last of the three exits for Smithville (an overpass) watch for KLBJ Road (Bastrop County Road 177) and signs to "Science Park". You'll turn right on KLBJ Road then make an immediate left onto CR 174 (also called Anne Powell Rd.) then follow the instructions "From Hwy. 71" below... Driving time from Houston is about 2 hours.
From Hwy. 71: Follow Anne Powell Road (CR 174) for 0.8 miles until it ends in a T-junction at Park Road 1C. Watch for more signs directing you to "Science Park." Turn left onto Park Rd 1C and drive the winding road through the piney woods (you are inside Buescher State Park). Drive past the entrance to Science Park (at 0.6 miles from Anne Powell Rd), to Old Antioch Rd (CR 185, a further 0.7 miles), the first road on the right side of 1C past Science Park. Follow Old Antioch Rd around through the two "gates" at either end of the Turkey Run subdivision (the first is at the power cut when you're leaving the boundary of Buescher State Park and the second is at the end of the "residential area" – not that it looks like one, just a few driveways leading off into the woods!). After you've gone through the second one there'll be a sharp right (there's a sign for the left fork that now says "Broken Tree Lane"), SLP is the first driveway up the right fork (i.e. still on Old Antioch Rd). The total distance on Old Antioch is about 1.4 miles. Watch for the mailbox, the sign on the fence beside the gate, and the number 401 at the Manager's Residence and Research Greenhouse. The field center is the next driveway up at number 405..
