Lewisville Lake lies around the city of Lewisville, about twenty miles northwest of Dallas in Denton County, on the Elm Fork, a tributary of the Trinity River. During the 1920s, the City of Dallas built the Garza Dam on the Elm Fork upstream from the current Lewisville Dam. The Garza Dam was completed in 1927, creating Lake Dallas. the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) constructed the Lewisville Dam because of a vast amount of silt accumulation in Lake Dallas.
The USACE destroyed the original dam in 1957, and Lake Dallas became part of Lewisville Lake. The U.S Government owns Lewisville Lake, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District, operates Lake Lewisville, mainly as a water supply source for the Cities of Dallas and Denton and surrounding communities.
Where is the Lake Lewisville Party Cove?
Lake Lewisville is a pretty big lake that covers 27,175 acres with an average depth of 25-feet and the deepest part of it at 67-feet deep. Lewisville Lake is surrounded by the towns of Copper Canyon, Corinth, Cross Roads, Hackberry Village, Highland Village, Lake Dallas, Little Elm, Oak Point, and Shady Shores,
Lake Lewisville Party Cove is right off of Westlake Park south on the peninsula that Lake Dallas occupies in Hickory Creek. It becomes a big rafting party of boats and music.
Westlake Park is a day-use park only open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The USACE operates Westlake Park. Westlake park has plenty of parking and lots of covered picnic tables that are close to the water, with some close enough to fish from. The picnic tables have splendid views of the lake. There are also four pavilions available for rent.
Westlake Park charges a $4 fee and the fee also gets you into Oakland Park, which connects to it. It features a small boat ramp and a nice dock. Oakland Park also has a boat ramp, but the Westlake Park boat ramp is on open water that the Oakland Park Ramp. Westlake Park accommodates boat trailer parking.
To get to Westlake Park on land, take I35 to the East Hundley Drive/Turbeville Road Exit just south of Lewisville, Texas. Go west on East Hundley for a little less than a mile and go south on South Lakeville Drive, where it Ts into Main Street, Go south on Main Street and follow it into Westlake Park.
Can You Have Alcohol on Lake Lewisville?
While carrying open containers of alcohol on a boat is legal on all Texas lakes, drinking and boating is against the law. Most importantly, the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limitation for boating and drinking is identical to limits for drinking and driving. In other words, having a BAC above 0.08 is considered operating or boating while intoxicated.
Yes, you can have alcohol on Lake Lewisville. Some of the parks around Lake Lewisville limit alcohol consumption to beer and wine.
Repercussions of Boating While Intoxicated
Although Boating While Intoxicated is considered a misdemeanor, a BWI charge can result in confinement in jail and the assessment of fines, which according to TPWD, include the following:
- First offense – Up to $2,000 fine, 180-days incarceration or both.
- Second offense – Up to $4,000 fine, one-year incarceration or both.
- Third offense – Up to $10,000 fine and incarceration between two and 10 years.
In addition, boating while intoxicated can have direct effects on the status of the arrested person’s driver’s license. For example, the driver’s license of the person arrested may be suspended, and the person arrested may receive additional points on his or her license. Regarding suspension, the first-time offense typically results in an automatic driver’s license suspension of 180 days if one of two criteria is met.
How Can Boating While Intoxicated Result in the Suspension of Your Driver’s License?
In general, a person is not required to provide a blood or breath specimen if suspected of boating while intoxicated in Texas. In order to obtain a specimen against the will of a person under suspicion of boating while intoxicated, a judge must sign a search warrant.
Refusal to provide a breath or blood specimen will result in the automatic suspension of your driver’s license. Furthermore, an automatic suspension is applied if the person arrested was operating a boat or PWC with an engine of more than 50 horsepower.
Boating laws in Texas are built to strongly discourage boating while intoxicated, especially since open containers are allowed on boats. However, you could face severe penalties if you are arrested and convicted of boating while intoxicated.
Who Patrols Lake Lewisville?
Flotilla 05-03 is an active United States Coast Guard Auxiliary unit within Division 5 of the 8th District Coastal Region. Their primary area of operations is at Lake Lewisville.
Denton County Sherrifs have law enforcement jurisdiction on the water at Lake Lewisville. The Coast Guard Auxiliary also patrols Lake Lewisville.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 1996 allows the Auxiliary to assist the Coast Guard in performance of any Coast Guard function, duty, role, mission or operation authorized by law and authorized by the Commandant.
This means the Coast Guard Auxiliary can detain suspected drunk boat operators. Flotilla 05-03 regularly conducts safety patrols, looking for boaters in need of assistance, and maintains a Waterway Watch to identify suspicious activities that may indicate threats to our Homeland Security. Flotilla 05-03 provides free vessel safety checks, safe boating courses, lake patrols, and search and rescue operations.
There are four bathrooms, four pavilions with one that accommodates up to 100 people, a swim beach, and a volleyball court. If you launch you boat there, remember the park closes at 10 p.m., so you are not able to get your boat out of the water after 10 p.m., and you will have to wait until 6 a.m.
Take your boat to the party cove at Lake Lewisville, and have fun, but be safe and have a designated boat operator. There is nudity, and people party hard. It is not for families. Or, check out Westlake Park and people watch. You can even launch your boat at Westlake or Oakland Park.
