Spring Break Alert: Two Incredible Vacation Homes Are Ready For Fun in Henderson Bay at Long Cove

We have long believed in the vacation home magic of Long Cove, one of the most popular vacation home developments in the state. It is proximate to Dallas-Fort Worth, exquisitely planned and orchestrated, and the developer had the experience and resources to do it right from the beginning.

Long Cove is also driveable from Dallas — only 75 miles or one-and-a-half hours east of downtown Dallas — and is situated on the very best of North Texas waters on the southern, deepest edge of Cedar Creek Lake. 

Long Cove’s Deep Water With Henderson Bridge Views

Cedar Creek Lake is the fourth largest lake in Texas, a state where 99 percent of the lakes are man-made. Long Cove is developer Don McNamara’s second home masterpiece: an upscale, wonderfully planned and executed beach club community modeled after Rosemary Beach, Watercolor, and Seaside in the Panhandle of Florida’s Emerald Coast.

McNamara has deep development experience that includes working with the Bass brothers and being the developer and investor behind Cityplace and West Village in Uptown Dallas. He is also a long-time resident of Cedar Creek Lake and invested 10 years planning Long Cove before a shovel was turned.

You Are Never More Than a Block From a Swimming Pool

When the communities of 30A in Florida were developed, they were planned as walkable/bike-able to everything within a one-mile walk: pools, snacks, and entertainment. McNamara has done the same for Long Cove, one reason why appreciation has been so dramatic.

Back in 2010, when I first started covering Long Cove, new homes were selling for slightly less than $700,000 with full concierge service, access to the Toy Barn, and all those pools. Since then, founding homeowners have more than doubled their values. 

“I have been selling lake homes at Long Cove for 10-plus years,” says Douglas Elliman agent Breah Brown. “I have seen this community grow before my eyes. And it just gets better and more highly sought with every season.”

Weekend homes sound sexy, but the chores can take the fun out quick with maintenance and upkeep. That’s why Long Cove was built with white glove concierge services baked right in, unlike older Cedar Creek Lake communities. Long Cove homeowners never have to futz with upkeep for a boat, the pool, or the yard.

The entertainment options are galore: a full-service marina. Miles of hiking and biking trails. Fishing ponds. Beach volleyball. Tennis. Lakeside bonfire pits. A resort-style pool and waterslide. A Play Field for sports of all kinds. Multiple swimming pools. A Toy Barn filled with sports gear and cruiser bikes that is open to all. There is even an executive golf course and full driving range designed by Tripp Davis, and a new putting green designed by David Zinkand.

You can be as quiet or as active as you want, and chances are some of your Dallas friends are neighbors.

When The Client Asks, OIerio Homes Delivers

“Many times parents don’t realize how locked they are with school schedules. Having two children myself, I understand the importance of a weekend getaway close enough to Dallas in the event where, if the kids have a game or practice to get to, we can make it back in plenty of time,” says Douglas Elliman agent Breah Brown. “That short drive gets you out and back within 3 hours.”  

Long Cove was so popular that Dallas luxury builder Lou Olerio’s clients began asking him to build them lake houses at Cedar Creek Lake. So he toted his signature building skills to Malakoff. Now he is offering two of his top-selling plans on Long Cove waters in the area’s newest development, Henderson Bay. The look for each home: the warmth of a farmhouse with a definitive Seaside charm.

Both homes, 13786 Waterside Drive, and 13381 Spinnaker Way, have breathtaking views of the water. Both come in at just under 5,000 square feet, so you can fill the house with family and guests or enjoy the peaceful waters completely solo. 

• 13786 Waterside Drive: 4,571 square feet with four bedrooms and five baths. 
• 13381 Spinnaker Way: 4,511 square feet but with five bedrooms and six baths. 

As he does with every luxury home, Olerio created beautiful main living areas and large first-floor primary bedroom suites that afford privacy when the house is bustling with company or family. And he truly mastered traffic flow from the front foyer to the stunning waterfall-granite kitchens.

Most vacation homes skimp on “service areas” to save space: not an Olerio home. Both laundry rooms are generous, almost overdone on storage with an exterior entrance (Waterside Drive) so wet bathing suits can be deposited and muddy shoes removed. Both homes also have first-floor home offices. COVID definitely unleashed the popularity of making vacation homes full-time with remote work. Both of these homes fit the bill perfectly.

“After 2020, I just cannot build a home without a substantial home office,” says Lou Olerio. “In some cases, clients want more than one. They are now overtaking the media room in popularity.”

Both homes send the kiddos and guests upstairs to sleep. There are three bedrooms plus a fun game room with a plumbed entertaining bar on Waterside Drive; four bedrooms, including a fun bunk room plus gameroom in Spinnaker Way.

The design is Olerio’s signature clean transitional beauty with smooth natural wide-planked floors, vessel tubs, and the finest in materials from plumbing fixtures to appliances. Each home is spectacular, showcasing breathtaking views of Henderson Bay Bridge. 

It’s definitely going to be hard to choose.

“The builder crafted both of these homes as custom-built, so you are getting incredible personalization and detail without the pain of year’s of planning,” says Brown. “They are move-in ready and come with the builder’s signature warranty. All you need is a toothbrush, towel, bathing suit and flip-flops.”

And if you forget that, Long Cove’s famous Concierge has you covered.

Breah Brown and Tracy Tutor of Douglas Elliman have both listed 13786 Waterside Drive ($2.995 million), 133381 Spinnaker Way ($3.495 million).