Boat Docks & Piers
Permitted docks reaching from private ground across Corps shoreline, sized for both the summer and winter pool elevations.
Lakes We Serve · East Texas
Docks, boathouses and bank stabilization on Lake O' the Pines.
Private docks are allowed here — but only on the reaches the Corps has classified for it. Get that answer first, and the rest of the project gets a great deal simpler.
The Permitting Reality
Corps fee land rings this lake, and the classification decides everything.
Waterfront homes sit on private land above the taking line. The dock reaches out over federal ground under a revocable permit.
Lake O' the Pines is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reservoir in the Fort Worth District, and the shoreline itself is federal property. A private dock exists only under a Shoreline Use Permit issued by the Lake O' the Pines Project Office — (903) 665-2336 or CESWF-OD-LP@usace.army.mil. The Northeast Texas Municipal Water District holds the water supply storage in the lake, but it does not permit shoreline structures; that is entirely the Corps' side of the table.
The good news, and it is worth stating clearly because it is not true everywhere: private docks are allowed here. Unlike Sam Rayburn, where Corps policy prohibits private boat docks outright, Lake O' the Pines permits them — but only where the Shoreline Management Plan classifies that reach as Limited Development.
The same plan designates Protected, Public Recreation and Prohibited Access shoreline where no private facility will be permitted, and it also controls vegetation modification and what erosion control is allowed. Two adjoining lots can easily fall on opposite sides of that line, which is why the allocation classification for your specific frontage is the first thing to establish — before a design, before a bid, before a boat is bought to fit a slip that may not be permittable.
The plan went through a public revision beginning in 2019. Whether that revision is finalized, and what the current allocation map shows for your reach, is a question for the lake manager rather than for a contractor's memory. Shoretech makes that call first and designs to the answer — including on private bulkheads and retaining walls, where what the plan allows is distinct from what the Corps itself builds for erosion control.
19,780
Acres at summer pool
144
Miles of shoreline
49.5
Feet at deepest
1959
Placed in operation
Water and Ground
A pool that steps up a foot and a half every May.
Lake O' the Pines runs on a seasonal pool, which is unusual enough to design around: 230.0 ft msl from 20 May to 15 September, then 228.5 ft msl from 16 September to 19 May. Average annual fluctuation is four to five feet — and the flood control pool tops out at 249.5 ft, twenty-one feet above winter pool.
1
Two normal water lines, not one
A structure here has a summer elevation and a winter elevation, both of them normal. Deck heights, ramp angles, flotation and utility runs are worked out against both, and against the flood pool that can put the whole shoreline under water in a wet spring.
2
Piney Woods bottom — sand, clay and timber
Sandy and clay banks, with standing and submerged timber and stump fields running through the creek arms. Aquatic vegetation is moderate, hydrilla dominant at roughly 15 to 20 percent coverage. Access and pile placement both get planned around what is still standing under the surface.
3
Erosion and slope failure are documented here
Shoreline erosion and slope failure are known problems around this lake, not one owner's bad luck. Engineered remedies have used steel sheet pile bulkhead to hold a vertical face, with flattened slopes protected by rock riprap. That combination — hold what must stay vertical, lay back and armour what can be flattened — is the honest starting point for most bank work here.
Scope of Work
What Shoretech builds on Lake O' the Pines.
Permitted structures in Limited Development reaches, and bank work that addresses the failure mode this lake actually has.
Boathouses & Covered Slips
Covered slips built to the Shoreline Use Permit for your reach, with the application prepared as part of the work.
Sheet Pile Bulkhead & Riprap
Steel sheet pile for a vertical face, flattened slopes armoured with rock — matched to what the Shoreline Management Plan allows at your site.
Precision Dredging
Slip and access dredging in silted creek arms, with material pumped for reuse instead of hauled off by truck.
Around the Lake
Pine country from Jefferson to Daingerfield.
Access is shared between the Corps, Marion County and the private marinas — the Corps alone maintains five free ramps.
Communities we serve here
- Jefferson
- Ore City
- Avinger
- Lone Star
- Hughes Springs
- Daingerfield
- Diana
- Marshall
- Longview
Marinas, parks and ramps
- Johnson Creek Park & Marina
- Big Cypress Marina
- Bullfrog Marina
- Alley Creek Park
- Brushy Creek Park
- Buckhorn Creek Park
- Cedar Springs Park
- Hurricane Creek Park
- Mims Chapel Park
Lake O' the Pines spans Marion, Morris, Upshur and Camp counties on Big Cypress Creek in the Cypress River Basin, behind Ferrells Bridge Dam. Impoundment began in August 1957, the dam was completed in June 1958, and the project was placed in operation on 11 December 1959. It covers 19,780 acres at summer pool and 18,700 at winter pool, averages about 13 feet deep and reaches roughly 49.5 feet. The commonly quoted figure of about 144 shoreline miles comes from secondary sources rather than a Corps publication, so treat it as approximate.
Questions We Hear
Lake O' the Pines FAQ.
Can I build a private boat dock on Lake O' the Pines?
Yes — unlike Sam Rayburn, private docks are allowed here. But only where the Shoreline Management Plan classifies that stretch of shoreline as Limited Development. The plan also designates Protected, Public Recreation and Prohibited Access shoreline where no private facility will be permitted, and two adjoining lots can fall on opposite sides of that line. Confirming the allocation classification for your own frontage with the Lake O' the Pines Project Office at (903) 665-2336 is the first step, before any design work.
Why does the lake level change every May and September?
Lake O' the Pines runs on a seasonal pool, which is unusual and worth designing around. The pool sits at 230.0 ft msl from 20 May to 15 September, then drops to 228.5 ft msl from 16 September to 19 May. Average annual fluctuation is four to five feet. The flood control pool tops out at 249.5 ft — twenty-one feet above winter pool — so the shoreline can be well under water in a wet spring.
The bank at my place is sliding. What can be done about it?
Shoreline erosion and slope failure are documented problems around this lake, so you are not imagining it. Engineered remedies here have used steel sheet pile bulkhead to hold a vertical face, with flattened slopes protected by rock riprap. What the Shoreline Management Plan permits for a private bulkhead or retaining wall, as distinct from Corps-engineered erosion control, is a question for the lake office — it is not safe to assume from another lake, and Shoretech gets it answered in writing before design.
Does the water district have a say as well as the Corps?
The Northeast Texas Municipal Water District holds the water supply storage in Lake O' the Pines, but it does not permit shoreline structures. Shoreline use permitting is the Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, through the Lake O' the Pines Project Office — (903) 665-2336 or CESWF-OD-LP@usace.army.mil.
Nearby Water
More East Texas lakes.
Start With a Conversation
Planning a project on Lake O' the Pines?
Tell Dave where your lot sits, what the bank is doing, and what you want at the water. The shoreline classification comes first — everything else is designed to it.