Malakoff offers small-town living with easy access to Dallas-Fort Wort
Malakoff sits on the southern end of Cedar Creek Reservoir, known locally as Cedar Creek Lake. Life here centers on the water, with residents spending weekends boating, fishing and relaxing along the shore. About 90 minutes from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Malakoff draws both second-home owners and longtime residents. While it feels rural, the town still offers small local businesses and convenient access to everyday needs, like grocery stores and hospitals.
What to expect from Malakoff’s lakefront and rural communities
Malakoff’s housing accommodates a wide range of budgets and lifestyles. “There are so many great communities that are family-oriented for either weekenders or full-timers,” says Lisa Parker , a real estate agent with Lake Homes Realty who has sold many homes in the area. “This lake also has many Airbnb rentals, which are sometimes sold to investors as fully furnished properties.” Here is what you can expect from Malakoff’s smaller areas:
- Star Harbor occupies a small peninsula on the lake’s southern banks and features a nine-hole golf course and single-story New Traditional homes.
- Long Cove, a gated community, embodies luxury lakefront life with multimillion-dollar homes and amenities like a neighborhood marina and a treehouse adventure park for kids.
- Caney City is up-and-coming, featuring undeveloped plots of land and recent construction.
- Log Cabin offers a rural lifestyle and more affordable home prices than the surrounding areas.
In general, ranch-style homes or single-story New Traditional homes can range from the low $100,000s to the low $300,000s, depending on size, age and condition. Single-story waterfront homes can cost from the low $500,000s to the high $800,000s, while waterfront estates run from the low millions to the mid-$4 millions.
What’s happening on Cedar Creek Reservoir
Malakoff sits on the southern tip of Cedar Creek Reservoir. “The south side of the lake is the deepest,” Sharpe says. “It’s a popular lake for fishing and recreation, but it’s the best of both worlds because most people have never heard of it, so there’s a sense of privacy.” Many residents own boats, which they keep at marinas or boat-storage facilities scattered throughout the area, or on private docks. “If someone doesn’t have a dock, neighborhoods typically offer a private boat ramp for residents,” Parker says. Away from the lake, the Malakoff Community Center is available to rent for events. It sits next to the local skate park and is within walking distance of Kilman Park, which has lighted ball fields.
Shopping and dining in the town center, with more nearby
Most shopping and dining options are clustered near the intersection of North Terry Street and West Royall Boulevard. Everyday essentials include a Brookshire’s grocery store, feed supply shops and Dollar General. Local favorites feature the following:
- Antoinnette’s Coffee House, popular for lattes in the morning and quick lunches in the afternoon
- Bookish, a not-for-profit bookstore with a variety of adult and children’s literature
- Opal & Viv’s, a women’s boutique
- Antiques On Royall, which sells secondhand furniture, art and more
- Kyonekko Sushi and Hibachi Express, a go-to spot for large portions of Japanese food
Sharpe also notes that the nearby towns of Gun Barrel City, Athens and Trinidad provide additional retail and restaurants. “ Athens and Trinidad are where you go if you want to go out to eat, and Gun Barrel City has the big-box stores and pharmacies, so that’s where you run errands,” she says.
85 miles to Dallas-Fort Worth
Malakoff is largely car-dependent. State Highway 31 runs east-west through the center of the community and connects with state Highway 7, which links to U.S. Route 175, the main road to and from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, about 85 miles northwest. “The commute on 175 is great,” Parker says. “This is a rural lakes area, so it’s not crowded once you get out of the thick of Dallas or wherever you’re coming from.” For air travel, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is about 95 miles away. UT Health Athens hospital is about 10 miles east.
Students are served by four schools in town
The Malakoff Independent School District serves the community, and school assignments are based on residency across the district’s limited campuses. Malakoff schools include Malakoff Elementary, Malakoff Intermediate, Malakoff Junior High and Malakoff High School.
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Adreanna DeMarino
