Looking for Texas lake property --need some guidance please

Lake Travis in Austin is really nice.

It's in the distance criteria.

I can't chime in on how the docking works.

 

Another one for Lake Travis. You could also look into Livingston, I don't know much about it but I have a friend that lives there. South of Dallas.

 

Typing this while I'm sitting on patio overlooking Lake Granbury. We went though the same decision process several years ago.
De Cordova Bend Estates. Private security. Country club. Two golf courses excellent restaurants, and very close to Motorsport Ranch if that is important. PM me if you have any questions.

 

Here is a good reference website for texas lakes.

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/fish/recreational/lakes/

 

I've owned a lake house at Cedar Creek for ~15 years so I guess I have some experience. My thoughts:

Find a lake that allows you to build a boat dock. Texoma isn't one of those. Having to load your crap in a vehicle and drive to your boat blows. It's MUCH nicer to walk out in your back yard and get in your boat. Forget something? Oh well, the house is 100 ft away. I highly recommend Cedar Creek for obvious reasons, but I'm told Tawakoni is nice as well. I love Possum Kingdom, but it's FAR from Dallas and there isn't much infrastructure out there. I've also spent quite a bit of time time at Richland Chambers, and it has the same infrastructure problem. It sucks to be out of milk/bread/gas/ice and have to drive 30 or 40 minutes to restock. It's also nice to have restaurants around as you'll discover cooking seems like a lot of work.

Don't avoid the big lakes because you like to ski, any lake has pockets of calm where you can do whatever you want. I'm on wide open water and there's no way you could ski in my 'cove'. But I can drive you to glass in 10 minutes or less.

It's nice to have a lake big enough to have marinas and on water restaurants. We boat to dinner regularly, and it's a great change of pace.

Keep the distance under 2 hours, closer if you can. You have no idea how many times you're going to have to make an unplanned run to the house because it's going to freeze/your toilet blew up/you left your laptop. It happens regularly, and the further away it is, the more it sucks. My house is 74 miles door to door, and it's pushing the limit for me. I also think you'll use it more if it's a little closer. A friend bought at Possum Kingdom and he lives in McKinney. His logic was that when he went, he wanted it to be far enough away that it would require him to stay a while. He sold it after 2 years because he never went, it was too far away. I go to spend one night on a regular basis.

The last suggestion I'll make is that when you buy, remember the 3 most important rules of lake real estate: water, water, water. Buy GOOD water. If you don't know what good water is, ask a local. I learned the hard way. 1st rule of good water is depth. Cedar Creek is a constant level lake, but it can drop 2 or 3 feet in the summer. If your boathouse has 4 feet of water, guess what happens in the summer? No boat. You also need to be aware of the direction you face. If you face North at my lake, your dock is going to get pounded all Winter from the North winds. You'll lose whole sections of decking, and I've seen a boat get pushed out of its sling and get buried bow-first in the mud. Almost the same problem if you face South in the summer (which I do), though the storms from the South aren't as bad. I lose a few boards off my dock every major storm. Avoid channels if you can, the real estate agents will tell you that it's nice and calm and that you're protected. It's true. They don't tell you that there's no breeze and in the summer the heat can be brutal.

If you ever head to my lake, PM me and let me know. I'd be happy to show you around. There's another F-Chatter that has a house there and I'm sure he has some wisdom to share as well. I can also put you in touch with the agent that sold me my house, she's been around the area for years and knows it extrememly well.

Good luck!

 

I have been on Cedar Creek for 25 years as well.

The selling point for this lake is it's far enough that the weekend jet mosquitos stay away, but close enough to not think twice about heading out to the house and any given point in the day or night.

Good water is a must as stated above. There's a lot of good water here.

I cannot comment on any other lakes because I just use those to fish.

 

Is the Bait Bucket still open? I grew up on Cedar Creek and have many fond memories of taking the boat to dinner. My best friend owns what you used to be the Merrimac Marina. He lives there in the main building now, has changed it into a party house.
I think he has some lots there for sale with existing boat docks if anyone interested.

 

Jarrett, Here are some pics of the lake we discussed, Lone Star Lake in east Texas. We have had a place there 6 years. Great Place.
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Bucket is gone. That was a looooong boat ride for me (Star Harbor). Cedar Isle is a whoopin too, but totally worth it when there's a good band playing.

 

I'm on Livingston, and Travis is too far for you also...

Funny enough, my first In-Laws are on Cedar Creek Lake......Star Harbor, too!!

Everything you want is okay there, permanent boat house at water line, bulkheads etc.

Lake Lavon is too muddy from the underlying farmland, Lewisville is too close and busy...

 

Check out Lake Travis or Lake Austin, you won't be disappointed. The level of lake Austin is controlled so some of the homes are almost right at the water level. The homes on Lake Travis sit up higher. Both lakes are Ski/wakeboard friendly & both have private docks. Lake Travis has lots of marinas but I'm not sure about Lake Austin.

 

Just selling a family lakehouse on Lake Marble Falls (Colorado River) because it was too far away, and wasn't getting used enough. Great 4 mile river type lake with cliffs to block wind in the section near the dam where we were. The hill country is rugged rock and brush territory, but it really grows on you. We had it since 1978, with a lot of great memories.
Downside was it was too small for a marina, so had to carry gas 200' down hill to dock.
Upside, 5 minutes to town, and the Bluebonnet Cafe !

I would look at Lake Athens, about 1 hr 20 minutes from Dallas. Big enough for marina, but small lake guarded by large trees. Several new homes built in the last 10 years so there should be availability out there. Close to Athens, a nice size small town, and a Texas fish hatchery there also for taking guests to. I did 2 years of Indian Princess trips there, and it is one of the best small lakes I have been on. Check it out.

I like Cedar Creek, great homes on a big lake. Downside is the wind, as it's really choppy in a lot of the open areas. Like Jim said, you can get to smooth in the coves, but we had to battle oceanlike waves in a 20' ski boat on Memorial Day, and I didn't think the girls were going to make the ride back. Close to Dallas, and lots of different areas to choose from.

 

Yup, big wide open water.....


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My vote - Lake Tyler or Lake Tyler East. 2 hours of Dallas and a world away!

 

One of the heads you see bobbing in the water in my pictures belongs to my sons friend. His parents have a house at Lake Cypress Springs. According to my kid, the house is fabulous (and for sale for $1.2M!!), and the lake is very nice. According to my sons friend, those waves you see in my picture is as rough as Cypress Springs ever gets, even in a storm. Those waves represent a pretty calm day at the Cedar Creek Lake Wide Open Water Division.

I know nothing about Cypress Springs except that there are nices houses and a marina on it. I Googled it and it's about 110 miles from Plano, East on I-30. I also learned that the dam for Cypress Springs marks the beginning of Lake Bob Sandlin. Might be worth a look.