Pier 334's marina has a permit for 40 boat slips, and it will open with 20. At the Sept. 22 Gun Barrel City council meeting, project manager Stephen Haynes said the marina would grow to 40 "as soon as we have some water back in the lake."
He wasn't the only one this fall whose plans were set by the lake level. The same drawdown that is holding back the new marina gave Henderson County a chance to fix the free public ramp at Caney City, work that normally sits underwater. The biggest private waterfront project in years and one of the lake's oldest public launches are both being shaped by how much water is in Cedar Creek right now.
Twenty slips now, forty when the water returns
You can watch the update in the City of Gun Barrel City's recording of the Sept. 22, 2026 council meeting. Haynes described a 62-room hotel with an amphitheater, a water feature, more than 700 feet of waterfront, and a marina "between 20 and 40 boats." A Citizen Portal summary of the meeting reported that foundation and seawall work was underway and that waterfront dining was part of the plan.
That puts the size of the marina at opening in the lake's hands, not just the builder's. If you keep a boat on Cedar Creek, the next question is how far down the water actually is.
Where the lake stands in October
Water Data for Texas put Cedar Creek Reservoir at 316.41 feet on Oct. 16, 2026. That is 5.59 feet below the 322-foot conservation pool and about 74% full. The figures are provisional. Here is how the daily average has moved since midsummer:
Date in 2026 | Daily mean elevation | Below conservation pool |
|---|---|---|
July 16 | 318.67 ft | 3.33 ft |
Sept. 16 | 316.41 ft | 5.59 ft |
Oct. 16 | 316.41 ft | 5.59 ft |
So the lake fell more than two feet over the summer, then held steady from mid-September to mid-October. The Tarrant Regional Water District's October 2026 lake level update explains why it hasn't come back up. The Cedar Creek watershed got 1.5 inches of rain in September, which didn't keep pace with evaporation, water demand and cumulative drought. Combined storage across TRWD's system dropped from about 83.7% on Sept. 1 to 80.4% on Oct. 1.
TRWD reported that drought got much worse across North Texas in September, with Extreme Drought in parts of the region and Severe Drought widespread. Its outlook expects lake levels to follow its normal-rainfall projection, with room to rise if the weather turns wetter. The district also said cooler temperatures should cut evaporation and water demand. A wet winter would help the lake recover, and it's the same recovery Pier 334 needs before its last 20 slips go in.
Low water also affects where you can launch. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Cedar Creek access page warns that some private ramps may be hard to use at low water. It lists two public ramps. One is Chamber Island Ramp, run by the Cedar Creek Lake Organization. The other is a free county ramp at the north end of the Caney Creek bridge, run by Henderson County.
Low water opened a repair window at Caney City
That second ramp was just repaired and extended, and the low lake is the reason the work could happen. In an Oct. 15 story in The Monitor, Henderson County Precinct 1 Commissioner Wendy Spivey described repairs to the Caney City boat ramp, on the north side of the State Highway 198 bridge from Malakoff.
Spivey told The Monitor that the ramp "is one of the few remaining places on Cedar Creek Lake where the public can launch a boat free of charge," and that Precinct 1 has maintained it since 2007. Earlier this year she applied for a Lowe's community improvement grant for the ramp, and it wasn't awarded. Then the lake dropped. Spivey said that gave the precinct a rare chance to fix problems that are normally underwater and hard to reach.
According to The Monitor, the work covered three things:
- Removal and replacement of a deteriorated section of the existing ramp.
- About 10 yards of new concrete to extend the ramp farther into the lake. This replaced a drop-off at the end that Spivey said could cause trouble for boaters, especially at low water.
- A temporary cofferdam, built for a few hundred dollars in materials, to keep the work area dry enough to pour.
The concrete work cost about $11,000. Precinct 1 crews and county equipment did the rest. The longer ramp is the part that matters most to boaters. It gives trailers a smoother transition into the water on exactly the kind of shallow shoreline the lake has now.
Six years from survey to seawall at Big Chief Drive
Pier 334 has been on local minds since before the drought. The project traces back to a city request for proposals in 2020. Haynes told the council that resident surveys behind Gun Barrel City's 10-year plan ranked two wishes high: a signature hotel to bring in tourism, and more places to eat on the water. The state's architectural barriers registration lists the hotel at 111 Big Chief Drive. That's the former Big Chief Landing site, near where Big Chief Drive meets State Highway 334.
The road from that survey to today's seawall work, as covered by The Monitor:
- August 2021. The Gun Barrel City EDC and the council approved a $500,000 reimbursement grant. A later council report said this completed the EDC's cash commitment.
- July 2022. The mayor said the project had already been delayed and expected groundbreaking early the next year.
- June 2023. At an EDC town hall, officials said plan review, traffic and roadway design, and approvals still had to be finished before a fall groundbreaking was possible.
- Feb. 27, 2024. The council unanimously approved a rezoning from B-2 to Planned Development, a comprehensive plan amendment and a preliminary plat. Conditions included a masonry wall and gate along Jeffery Circle and 25 trees for the parks department.
- Oct. 14, 2024. The EDC and developer YNS held the groundbreaking.
- June 2025. A council update covered select fill, grading, storm drains and utilities.
- September 2026. Foundation and seawall work was underway.
The price grew along the way. Haynes told the council the project started at about $15 million when it was first designed and is now "right at $27 million." The state registration lists a $15 million estimate for the 62,618-square-foot hotel building alone, which may cover a narrower scope than the full development.
What's planned, and what's still a projection
The hotel will carry Hilton's Tapestry Collection brand, a line of upscale independent boutique hotels where guests can use Hilton reward points. The Monitor's Aug. 27 report from the Gun Barrel City chamber chapter meeting quoted Haynes projecting an opening on Dec. 31 "and no later than early spring," with a reservations website ready by November. The state filing also lists Dec. 31, 2026 as the completion date. At the September council meeting, Haynes estimated 64 new jobs and said the search for employees would start in mid-October.
The filing lists a commercial kitchen, bar, coffee bar and meeting rooms inside the hotel. The 2024 groundbreaking plans went further, adding a splash park, fishing pier, banquet hall, restaurant, coffee shop and a food hall building for up to four restaurants. At a 2023 EDC town hall, The Monitor reported, the developer said almost 20% of the land was going back to public use, including a splash pad open to the public. The project hasn't yet published how locals can use the dining, the slips or the amphitheater, including whether boat-in visits or events will be open to the public. The September presentation is the most recent official description of what's being built.
Haynes also used the August chamber meeting to answer social media talk about the building "falling into the lake." He told the group the architects bring their own inspector, subcontractors carry insurance, and Hilton inspects the work because its name is on it.
On the calendar while the hotel is finished
The lake towns have a full fall and holiday schedule between now and the hotel's projected opening:
- Gun Barrel City Haunt Fest, Saturday, Oct. 24, 6 to 8 p.m. at GBC Park, 301 Municipal Drive. The city's event listing promises free admission, trunk-or-treat and a kids' area.
- Trick or Treat on Market Street, Oct. 31 at 5:30 p.m. in downtown Mabank, hosted by the City of Mabank, according to the Cedar Creek Lake Area Chamber of Commerce calendar.
- Mabank Pickle Festival, Nov. 21, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Mabank Pavilion on Easley Parkway.
- Gun Barrel City Christmas Parade, Saturday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. from 301 Municipal Drive, with the theme "Old Fashioned Christmas," per the city's parade listing.
If you're wondering how this fall's lake level affects your own dock, your launch, or a waterfront property you're considering, I'm glad to talk through what the water looks like along your stretch of Cedar Creek. Reach out to Britany Ott at Riggs Property Group at Keller Williams Realty Tyler. Let's Connect.
