Landscaping in Lakeway

Landscaping in Lakeway, on the limestone slopes above Lake Travis

Lakeway is a Hill Country city on the south shore of Lake Travis: steep lots, limestone, live oaks, deer that walk through the yard at breakfast, and views that the landscaping is supposed to frame rather than block. The budgets match the lots, and the rules are strict.

Warm low-voltage path lights glowing along a flagstone walk at dusk, uplights on the trunk of a live oak

Lakeway began as a lake resort community in the 1960s and has grown into a city of larger homes on the hills between RM 620 and the water, with Rough Hollow, The Hills, Lakeway Highlands and the older streets around the Lakeway Resort and the golf courses. Everything is limestone and slope. Soil is a few inches deep where it exists at all, the live oaks and cedar elms are old and protected, and the deer population is large enough that the city has its own management program.

The work is design and construction more than maintenance. Terraces in dry-stack and mortared limestone, kept under four feet where the slope allows and engineered where it does not. Flagstone patios and steps that follow the hill. Lighting on the oaks and along the steps, because the yards are used at dusk when the heat breaks. Planting that lives on rock and rain and that the deer walk past: agave, yucca, sotol, cenizo, salvias, muhly grass, Texas mountain laurel, with a small lawn of Zoysia or Bermuda near the house if the owner wants one. Irrigation by drip, audited by a licensed irrigator, because Lakeway's water is drawn from the lake and its rules are tight in a drought.

Lakeway has its own tree ordinance protecting larger trees and a strict stance on removing them, plus HOA review in every subdivision and a city permit for walls and work near the lake. The contractor checks all of it before a quote. Lakeway and Bee Cave are reached on 71 and 620 from the base and are routed together.

What Lakeway yards get

Slope design

Terraces, steps and patios that follow the hill, in limestone, kept under four feet where possible and engineered where not.

Views framed, not blocked

Plant heights and tree pruning planned around the sightline to the lake.

Deer-resistant palette

Agave, yucca, sotol, cenizo, salvias, muhly and mountain laurel; nothing the deer eat first.

Protected oaks

Live oaks and cedar elms measured against the city's ordinance; pruning in the window; removals only with a permit.

Drip and audits

Beds on drip and the lawn zone audited to Lakeway's water rules by a licensed irrigator.

Lighting for the evening

Path, step and tree lighting laid out at dusk for yards used after the heat breaks.

Neighborhoods and roads

Rough Hollow
The Hills
Lakeway Highlands
Lakeway Resort area
Lohmans Crossing
Flintrock Trace
Serene Hills
RM 620 corridor
Bee Cave (adjacent)
Hudson Bend (adjacent)
Lakeway 78734 · 78738

Services in Lakeway

Asked in Lakeway

Does Lakeway allow tree removal?

Only with a permit under the city's tree ordinance, which protects larger trees and takes removal seriously. Pruning is allowed in the oak-wilt window. The contractor measures and files first.

Can a wall over four feet be built on my slope?

With an engineer's plan and a city permit, yes. Where the slope allows, two or three shorter terraces avoid both and look better.

What do the deer leave alone?

Agave, yucca, sotol, cenizo, salvias, muhly, rosemary and mountain laurel, mostly. They sample everything new the first season, so new plantings are sprayed or caged until established.

Can I keep a lawn?

A small one near the house, Zoysia or Bermuda on imported soil, with drip-irrigated natives everywhere else. A big lawn on limestone in Lakeway is a water bill with grass on it.

Do you do lighting?

Yes, and Lakeway is where it is asked for most: path and step lights on the slopes, uplights on the oaks, laid out at dusk.

Is there a travel charge to Lakeway?

No. Same prices across the service area.

Nearby: Cedar Park · Dripping Springs · South Austin · whole service area