Boathouses on Lake Cherokee
Single-story covered slips drawn to the 18-foot limit measured from spillway level, with an open top deck where the owner wants one.
Lakes We Serve · TX
Boathouse, dock and bulkhead work on Lake Cherokee.
Lake Cherokee is not a public reservoir. A private company owns the water, the bottom and the lot your house sits on — and it decides what goes over the water. On this lake the permit shapes the design, not the other way around.
Permission Before Design
Cherokee Water Company approves every structure here.
No river authority. No Corps district. A private lake corporation that owns the lake bottom and every one of the lots around it.
Cherokee Water Company (CWC) holds the 3,987-acre lake on Cherokee Bayou and the roughly 1,500 leased residential lots around it, and the lake is closed to anyone but shareholders and their guests. It is working water as well as a neighborhood — it supplies the City of Longview water intake and industrial cooling water.
A shareholder must pull a CWC permit before building, repairing or altering any structure. Over-water structures are approved by the Lake Manager, a designee, or the Board of Directors, and permits are issued out of the CWC office at NK-20 Lake Cherokee in Longview (903-643-3933).
Two details catch people out. First, no permit is issued on a lot that has not been surveyed by a Texas Registered Professional Land Surveyor and tied to the CWC control network — so the survey comes before the paperwork, not after. Second, the permit runs on a clock: work has to start within 90 days of issuance, and non-residential work has to finish within six months. Excavating below spillway level, and adding or removing fill or gravel, are covered by their own separate permits.
Design Inside the Rules
CWC's limits are specific, and they change the drawing.
A boathouse that would pass on a Corps lake or a river-authority lake can be flatly non-compliant here. These are the constraints that decide the design on Lake Cherokee.
Because the lots are leaseholds from the company rather than deeded ground, most of the demand on this shoreline is repair, replacement and rebuild on an old, fully built-out waterfront — which means the existing structure's footprint and the current rulebook both have a vote.
1
Eighteen feet, measured from the water
Boathouse height is capped at 18 feet measured from spillway water level — not from your deck, and not from the bank. That single line governs roof pitch, truss depth and whether a lift fits underneath.
2
One story, and the top deck stays open
Boathouses may be one story only. An open deck on top is allowed, but no roof or enclosure over it, and no bathroom. Plan the shade and the storage accordingly, before anyone falls in love with a second level.
3
A retaining wall can't buy you more yard
A shareholder may not use retaining walls to push a lot's surface area out into the lake. A wall here holds the bank you have — it is erosion control, not land-making, and the alignment has to be honest about that.
4
The surveyor goes first
An RPLS survey tied to the CWC control network is the gate. Getting it done early keeps the permit, the wall line and the over-water footprint working from the same set of coordinates.
What Fits This Lake
Waterfront work on a fully built-out shoreline.
Lake Cherokee has been developed for decades. The work here is mostly replacing what is worn out — to today's rulebook, not the one in force when it was first built.
Boat Docks & Piers
Replacement docks, walkways and swim piers on an established shoreline — sized to the existing lot and the permitted footprint.
Seawalls, Bulkheads & Retaining Walls
Galvanized steel, vinyl, FRP composite and heavy timber walls that hold the bank on its existing line — matched to the soil and exposure.
Precision Dredging
Slip and shoreline dredging with the spoil pumped for backfill reuse. Excavation below spillway level carries its own CWC permit.
Know the Water
Twelve miles southeast of Longview, held at 280 feet.
Gregg and Rusk counties, with its own lettered sections and a shoreline that behaves like a small town.
CWC posts the lake level daily against a 280-foot service spillway crest, and the lake normally sits at or just under it. Above that, the emergency spillway crest is 287.7 feet and the top of the dam is 295 feet. For a builder that steadiness is a gift: a wall or a fixed pier can be set tight to a known waterline instead of hedged across a wide seasonal swing.
The community stretches toward Longview, Kilgore, Tatum and Henderson, with residents split among Longview ISD, Kilgore ISD and Tatum ISD. Access is through the gate and the CWC office, which matters for scheduling crews, barges and material deliveries as much as it matters for the permit.
Questions We Hear
Lake Cherokee FAQ.
Can I build a boathouse on Lake Cherokee?
Yes — with a Cherokee Water Company permit, and inside CWC's rules: 18 feet maximum measured from spillway water level, one story, an open deck on top with no roof or enclosure over it, and no bathroom. Design to those numbers first and the approval gets a lot simpler.
Why does CWC want a survey before it will issue a permit?
Because no permit is issued on a lot that hasn't been surveyed by a Texas RPLS and tied to the CWC control network. On a leasehold lake the company has to know exactly where the lot line runs before it approves anything over the water.
Can a bulkhead give me a little more yard?
No. CWC's rules specifically prohibit using retaining walls to extend a lot's surface area into the lake. A wall on this shoreline is there to stop erosion and hold what you already have.
How fast do I need to move once the permit is issued?
Work has to start within 90 days of issuance, and non-residential work has to be finished within six months. That timeline should drive when the permit is pulled — not the other way round.
Does Shoretech work on Lake Cherokee?
Lake Cherokee is inside Shoretech's service area. Dave travels as far as necessary for the right project, and East Texas is regular ground for our crews. Call to talk through access, the CWC permit and scheduling.
Nearby Water
More lakes in this region.
Start With a Conversation
Planning a project on Lake Cherokee?
Tell Dave what's there now, what has failed, and what you want the finished waterfront to do. We'll work back from CWC's rules to a design that can actually be permitted.