Would we have more erosion of the land if we cleared all of the bushes? The lake is about 3ft deep for 30 yards and then it gets deeper. We are wondering if we can put a beach back there? Or should we build a dock? New homeowners on a lake any and all advice welcome!
by Old_Caramel_6484
30 Comments
Path! Privacy is a good thing and nature is best when you fuck minimally with it.
Creating a path would be lovely and make the area seem longer. The trees are lovely too.
It’s good habitat. Just 1 path to the lake, leave everything else.
For the animals and bugs
Removing all the veg would likely result in shoreline erosion and that’s no good.
Clear out anything invasive though.
Clear any and all invasive bushes (e.g., honeysuckle, Autumn olive, Russian olive), then make a path through the growth (looks like maybe goldenrod? will be beautiful in the fall). Use 41% concentrated glyphosate from Tractor Supply on the freshly cut stumps of the invasive or they’ll come back even worse, and don’t let it get in the lake.
Does the lake have any regulations? Who owns it? On our lake, (owned by the power company), there are restrictions on what can be done on the shoreline.
Erosion would quickly become a problem, I would just make a path.
Just clear some bushes to make a way going to the lake. It’s best if the path is created in a natural way.
Path.
Path
Don’t clear it all. Do a path, but selectively clear patches (i.e. prune individual branches), so that glimpses of the lake can be seen – from the path’s origin, as well as from points along it. This will provide a sense of mystery, and will invite people to explore what may lie ahead.
Before cutting anything, meander around in there, and look for interesting vistas of the lake and beyond. These points will become the nodes that define your path.
Path! So much more interesting.
In my area, you would be absolutely barred from touching native vegetation within 200 meters of the water, you can’t do anything within 200 meters of the water, and when you get caught, the fines are hefty.
The sides of lakes and rivers often look like what you have there, I’d check if you aren’t covered by something similar.
Too many binary answers here (clearcut or path). As a lakefront owner, I get the impulse for expansive lakeview as well as the concerns about erosion. Both have merit and validity. Not sure what is on the left side, but I assume another house is there somewhere in view. My recommendation is to create a wide path (~8 feet) while letting tall natives (preferably evergreens) grow on the sides to provide privacy. For the center area outside the aforementioned the pathway, allow only low natives beyond a new and clearly established lawn edge with a shallow mulch bed of annuals/perennials of your choosing. Rather than clear cutting to the shoreline, you can get the lakeview you want by limbing up most of the established trees in the photos…go gently as not much is needed here. Your lake view is then between the (now higher) tree limbs and the (now lower) native ground brush…best of both worlds established and in the winter you should see the shoreline clearly. If you do build a dock, you can place an irrigation pump on the dock and run a sprinkler system over your entire property without using well/city water. This would cost you perhaps $5-$10k depending on how extensive your needs might be.
Start with clearing out a path and see how you like it, then go drone there.
Definitely create a path and give yourself a slightly more open view
No just clear a small path to the lake that way you still get privacy amd you get the protection from winds off the lake when the weather gets bad.
PATH! A riparian buffer between any land and body of water is healthy for the environment and you get a free goose fence as well. The moment you run that to the water you’re going to be dealing with water fowl.
path
we have a Lakehouse with dock and we don’t own the shoreline, it’s part of the lake which is controlled by the Army Corps Engineers. Our lake also has a dam with a power plant, which may be very different from yours. but wed almost be arrested if we did what you’re discussing, in terms of clearing the shoreline. definitely check with local authorities on this first.
Make a path. Stay to natural as much as possible
Make a path
It’s a private freshwater lake with minimal restrictions. The houses that touch the lake own their rights to access.
Here’s the thing. If you clear it out you’ll definitely be clearning it out every year, probably multiple times per year. Removing brush is not a fun job and it’ll turn the “lake life” into dreading this task every spring and summer.
It’s a great no fuss privacy screen. Yeah it kinda squashes the lakeview, but it’s that or putting in the hard work to keep it clear. It’s good for the lake and it’s good for the wildlife AND it’s good for your property because fixing erosion is probably going to require a bank loan and more hard work on top of the hard work to keep it clear.
Make a wide path that curves, makes the view more interesting and you have plenty of room. Consider planting an evergreen, flowering shrub like Clethra on the curves.
Make a winding path to the lake. You should not be able to see the end of the path from the house.
Boardwalk to a dock so you can launch your canoe easier.
Trim the low branches to provide a view of the lake but also leaving some privacy by blocking what looks like and apartment complex? across the way. Wide path to the lake with a dock for lounging. Low natives and some natives with color around the path. Lake erosion sucks. Dealing with it right now
One small path. Keep your place from flooding. Lake views are nice, till you flood.
path and prune the rest