Shoreline Restoration in Hickory, NCRip-rap on Lake Hickory · Catawba County
A river lake rather than an open one — wake that crosses, returns, and has Catawba current underneath it.
What the Water Does
on This Side
Hickory built itself on furniture and is still the commercial centre of the Catawba Valley. The city reaches the water on its northern edge, where the Catawba River widens behind Oxford Dam into Lake Hickory.
Lake Hickory is narrow enough that the far bank is in plain sight, and that changes what a shoreline takes. Wake crosses, reflects off the opposite bank and comes back. There is river current underneath it as well. Nothing here arrives with the force of open water on Norman, but very little of it stops either.
The bank itself. Clay over rock, with the rock closer to the surface than it is further down the Catawba. Where rock sits shallow, the bank above it is thin and goes quickly once the water finds the seam.
Hickory draws down further over winter than Norman does. On the city shore that is the honest time to look at a bank, because the part that fails first is finally out of the water.
The work is the same wherever the water is: rip-rap set along the waterline to hold the bank, keyed in at the toe below the normal level, with the stone sized for what that stretch actually takes. More on how that works is on the shoreline restoration page. Everything else we do in town is on the Hickory services page.
Get a free estimate →
Access in Hickory
City lots on the Hickory side are generally workable from the land, though the older ones nearer town can be narrow. Rock at shallow depth sometimes matters more than access here, because it changes how the toe gets keyed in.
Usually. City lots on this side are generally workable from the land, though the older streets nearer town can narrow up. The requirement itself does not change from town to town: somewhere on the property to drop stone, and a seven-foot clear opening to the water.
Work at the waterline on Lake Hickory sits under Catawba-Wateree shoreline management as well as Catawba County permitting. We establish which apply before ordering stone, so the job is not stopped halfway through.
Shoreline Photos
Our own jobs, photographed on site.
Hickory, North Carolina
Hickory sits in Catawba County, a straight run up US-321, on the southern shore of Lake Hickory — a narrower Catawba River impoundment held behind Oxford Dam.
Hickory Shoreline — Common Questions
What property owners on this water ask us most. If yours is not here, call (828) 455-0928.
Yes. Lake Hickory is part of the same Catawba-Wateree system, so shoreline management rules apply on top of Catawba County permitting. We sort out which before ordering stone.
Not necessarily. Hickory sends less at a bank at any one moment than Norman does, but it sends it almost constantly, and there is current underneath. Steady is its own kind of pressure.
Winter, when the lake is drawn down. The toe of the bank is the part that fails first, and drawdown is when you can actually see it.
On the Hickory shore the variable is often what is under the bank rather than how long it is. Where rock sits shallow the toe gets keyed differently, and we would rather see that before quoting than after.
Usually. City lots on this side are generally workable from the land, though the older streets nearer town can narrow up.
Where Else We Set Stone
Denver, NC
Lake Norman shoreline, the western shore, in Lincoln County.
Shoreline restoration in Denver →Mooresville, NC
Lake Norman shoreline, the northern and eastern shore, in Iredell County.
Shoreline restoration in Mooresville →Huntersville, NC
Lake Norman shoreline, the south-eastern shore, in Mecklenburg County.
Shoreline restoration in Huntersville →Bethlehem, NC
Lake Hickory shoreline, the northern shore, in Alexander County.
Shoreline restoration in Bethlehem →Conover, NC
Lake Hickory shoreline, a short run north, in Catawba County.
Shoreline restoration in Conover →Connelly Springs, NC
Lake Rhodhiss shoreline, the southern shore, in Burke County.
Shoreline restoration in Connelly Springs →Free Estimate in Hickory
Tell us where on the Hickory shoreline the job is and what needs doing. Rodney will come look at it and leave you a written price.
- Rodney looks at the job himself
- A written price, not a range that moves
- No charge for the visit, no pressure after