Waverunner, Is there areas that have waterfront homes and water rights on the lake or connecting rivers? If so,where would you suggest?
My answer may be a little long, so bear with me. Bull Shoals is THE reservoir lake for the upper White River system. There are 2 other large lakes and a third small one that proceed it in the system, but none are anywhere near as large as Bull Shoals. This lake has a 36' vertical capacity increase, meaning that the normal lake elevation can go from 659' AMSL to as high as 695' when it reaches the 17 spillways on the dam. None of the upper lakes on the system even come close to this much water-holding capacity.
Because of this, the nearest you will see a home to the "normal" waterline is about 50-60' vertically above it, and some are well over 200' higher. Couple that with the fact that the lake is a Federal waterway, operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. That means that the government owns a swatch of land around the entire lake, usually 200' or more laterally from normal pool to any private property. My house is considered lakefront (and I have 670' of it), but the closest approach from my property line to normal pool is 265', and my house is situated 90-95' above the water at normal pool. I don't need flood insurance as a result, and don't know of anyone in a private residence on the lake who does.
I've seen the water go over 690' AMSL twice in the last 5 years here, back in 2011 and then again in 2015. The lake was designed to support that much extra pool and alleviate the strain on the upper lakes, which are much more commercialized and have much less water height (capacity) they can tolerate. Even at that height, the water is still well over 300' horizontal distance from the house, and even then, I'm still 55' minimum above the waterline, which is comforting.
"Waterfront" homes here means "lakefront", but there will almost always be trees between you and the lake as it is illegal to clear a path to the lake or cut down any trees or vegetation on government property. This keeps the lake looking very pristine and beautiful. There are no "water rights", and boat houses/docks are carefully monitored. In my opinion, if you were looking to buy here, look for a home near the many boat ramps. With water elevation changes that can be 8' or more overnight, keeping a boat house can become a full time job. I have no idea what a permit goes for thru the Corps.
There are many beautiful places to live around the lake, but most people don't care for the remoteness of it in relation to shopping, stoplights, and such. It was for this very reason we fell in love with the area. Homes near the towns of Lakeview or Bull Shoals are as populated as you'll get, and as close to the water as you can get. The water is almost always clearer near these towns as they are close to the dam. I would invite anyone interested in this area to get on Zillow and look at what's available. Beautiful homes come on the market just about every day, as this is a retirement haven (heaven?).
That being said, there are homes that are very visible from the lake and thus are very close to the lake, but we prefer the privacy AND the view our home gives us. We can see across almost 2.5 miles of lake to the distant cliffs, and the lake is between 2,900' and 4,000' wide in our view from the living room or deck (see below).
Hope this helps answer your question. Anyone should feel free to PM me if you'd like more info on the area!
