Boat Docks, Lifts & Bulkheads on
Cedar Creek Lake

Yes. Cedar Creek is a Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) reservoir, so every dock, lift, and bulkhead clears the TRWD shoreline office before fabrication. We prepare and submit the full packet — decking, lighting, and electrical to current standards — so the permit doesn't stall your build.

A standard fixed dock typically runs about $22k–$52k depending on size, decking material, and whether you add a lift or cover. Exposed main-body and point lots take southeast wind all afternoon and need heavier pilings and breakwater geometry, which moves the number up; sheltered coves run lighter. Use the instant estimator for a range tailored to your lot.

We build fixed docks and rigid bulkheads on Cedar Creek, sized for the lake's normal 4-foot range (Texas Parks and Wildlife), rather than articulating systems.

Because every Cedar Creek dock, lift, and bulkhead clears the Tarrant Regional Water District shoreline office before we cut material, we build that review into the schedule from day one. We submit the full packet — decking, lighting, and electrical to current standards — at the start so fabrication isn't waiting on the permit. Pre-clearing the design with TRWD is what keeps a Cedar Creek build moving on time.

Almost always yes — adding the lift on the same build saves a return mobilization and the cost of bringing a crew and barge back. We size it to today's boat, with room for the next one.

A bulkhead or seawall on Cedar Creek typically runs about $12k–$36k depending on shoreline length, material, and the tie-back system. Exposed main-body and point lots that take southeast wind all afternoon need deeper tie-backs, which moves the number toward the higher end; sheltered coves run lighter. We clear the alignment through TRWD as part of the job.

Exposed main-body and point lots take southeast wind across a long fetch all afternoon, so they need heavier pilings, deeper tie-backs, and breakwater geometry that a protected cove doesn't. That's the single biggest cost driver between two Cedar Creek lots of the same size. Sheltered coves build lighter and run nearer the low end of the range.

It depends on the cove — sheltered arms accumulate fine sediment over time and can lose usable depth at the slip, while open frontage holds depth better. We sonar-map the bottom before scoping so the dock sits in water that's actually deep enough to use. When a cove is silted in, we pair the dredge with the dock on one mobilization, with cove dredging typically running about $17.5k–$40k by volume.

We build to current TRWD decking standards, and the material is one of the main things that moves a dock between the $22k and $52k range. Composite decking holds up to Cedar Creek's full-sun exposure with less maintenance than wood, while heavier framing and covers add cost on the exposed lots that take afternoon wind. We spec the deck to your lot and budget at the estimate.

Yes. Alongside docks and bulkheads we build residential retaining walls, which typically run about $2.7k–$7.2k depending on length, height, and material, with drainage built in. Where a wall ties into the shoreline we coordinate it with the TRWD-permitted bulkhead alignment so the two systems work together rather than against each other.

Yes — outdoor kitchens are a popular add-on for Cedar Creek lake houses, running from roughly $9.6k for a grill-and-counter build up past $21k for a full kitchen depending on the appliance package and countertop. We often tie the kitchen into the same mobilization as dock or bulkhead work so you share the setup cost across scopes.

On the fixed framing and rigid bulkheads we set, maintenance is mostly hardware checks, deck fasteners, and lift cables. We build to current TRWD electrical and lighting standards so the dock stays compliant through the shoreline program's periodic reviews. A quick annual look at tie-backs and pilings on the exposed lots catches wear before it becomes a repair.

TRWD notes that most of Cedar Creek's shoreline is privately owned. It set up Tom Finley Park as a public day-use park with an ADA boat ramp; Friends of Cedar Creek Lake runs it and charges a small admission. Texas Parks and Wildlife also lists the Chamber Island ramp on the Highway 334 causeway, the City of Log Cabin's four-lane ramp, and a free Henderson County ramp on FM 198 at the Caney Creek bridge, about 3 miles north of Malakoff.

TRWD lists Cedar Creek at 32,873 surface acres at its 322-foot conservation pool, with about 220 miles of shoreline. Texas Parks and Wildlife puts the maximum depth at 53 feet. Older listings may show 33,750 acres, which was the original design estimate.

Yes. Joe B. Hogsett Dam holds back Cedar Creek, a Trinity River tributary, about 3 miles northeast of Trinidad. Water began filling the lake on July 2, 1965, and crews finished the dam in February 1966. TRWD owns and runs it as a water-supply reservoir.

No. Its conservation level is 322 feet, and Texas Parks and Wildlife lists a normal fluctuation of 4 feet. TRWD posts the current level on its website.

Yes. The Texas Water Development Board's 2017 survey of the lake includes a bottom contour map, posted on its website, and TRWD publishes a lake map showing ramps and marinas. Neither shows the silt at a single slip. We sonar-map the bottom before scoping so the dock sits in water that's actually deep enough to use.

Yes, within TRWD's rules. Its General Ordinance keeps swimmers within 100 feet of the shoreline or a boat and at least 100 feet from boat launches, unless they are inside a buoyed swimming area. Tom Finley Park, TRWD's public day-use park on the lake, has a swimming area.