The Lake at Lissara

Located in the foothills of the North Carolina Piedmont dominated by the lush green grasses and forests of the lower Blue Ridge Mountains lies a unique valley setting overlooking the Yadkin River. In an area settled by European immigrants seeking refuge and opportunity; Lissara provides comparable solace. On the western edge of the Town of Lewisville, a bedroom-community of the twin cities of Winston-Salem, Lissara is conveniently located within 3 minutes of US 421 and 10 minutes to regional shopping, world-class health-care and the heart of downtown Winston-Salem’s thriving arts, music and culinary venues. From the heart of the Yadkin Valley Wine country; traveling westward within one-hour you can be on the Blue Ridge Parkway and on to the unlimited destinations sought by travelers for day-trips in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Lissara was envisioned as a community where your primary residence sets within minutes of your daily work and necessary activities, yet lives like a vacation retreat.

Created around preserved natural surroundings, Lissara masterfully incorporates seamless green corridors of mature woodlands, pristine streams, rolling hills and deep valleys; where picturesque streets allow respite from the day as you turn in the entrance and wind toward home. Lissara encompasses 255 acres in a secluded forestland escape immediately surrounded by the urban bustle of the nearby Winston-Salem.
Lissara, Gaelic for “beautiful valley” is named after the origin of the McMordie family , the landowners of the lake valley, who migrated from the Lissara Townlands, County Down, Kilmore Parish, Northern Ireland.
Challenging the artful eyes and skilled hands of the seasoned development team of Lang Wilcox (Bent Tree Farm, Windham Farm), Pete Ramey (Oak Valley, Meadowlands), Brant Godfrey (Oak Valley, Fair Oaks) and Beau Dancy (Muirfield, Westhaven); years of careful planning, hard work , sound management and iron-clad determination have culminated in the arrival of The Lake at Lissara. Located on Shallowford Road just west of Lewisville, Lissara is 3 minutes to US 421 and 10 minutes to the heart of Winston-Salem.

As with strokes from his brush, renowned artist and naturalist Bob Timberlake, with friend and local architect Norman L. Zimmerman fashioned the revival of an Adirondack boathouse sporting the appointments of a by-gone era. Setting at the head-waters of Lake Lissara; views from the extensive decks and covered porches of Timberlake Lodge reach the entire length of the lake. Formed of natural materials such as stone and pine timbers with heavy raftered eaves the senses reflect to turn-of-the-century designs. Twenty-two foot ceilings of the gathering room give way to a massive stone fireplace and 5 foot wide firebox. A standing-seam metal roof presents a warm appeal in concert with the poplar bark siding, timbered columns, juniper decking and mountain laurel twig-railing representative of traditional Adirondack and Appalachian architecture. Complete with a kitchen and bar; homeowners are able to host myriad private gatherings. With adequate restrooms, your special events can easily accommodate nearly 200 guests.

Central to the neighborhood lays the gem of Lissara – Lake Lissara. At 21 acres, Lake Lissara is the largest private lake built in Forsyth County in over 80 years. Surrounded by mature forest the deep valley - which cradles Lissara Lake - falls northward through the neighborhood for nearly a mile. The uncharacteristically diverse terrain gives the sensation you are miles further into the western Piedmont foothills. Strategically placed between ridgelines the seventy-foot dam holds the cool waters that make Lake Lissara so unique. The valley depth, North-South orientation and forested shoreline preserve and protect the water quality flowing into and downstream of the lake. Three-miles of shoreline are protected with natural buffers that filter stormwater run-off. Each lakefront lot owns their respective lakeshore with easements through the buffer to access their private dock. Boating and swimming are encouraged. Electric powered boats, row-boats, canoes and kayaks can be moored at your private dock for use at your leisure. Small sailing craft can make-way when conditions smile. The depth and anticipated thermal characteristics of the lake will support a variety of sport-fish which will be enthusiastically stocked by the developers.

The Lissara lifestyle emanates from the mountains, and rings gloriously through the valleys, down the miles of streams and trails, and into the spirit of all who call this place home. A true paradox environment with the sense of a family retreat - excitement and relaxation, growth and reflection, adventure and respite – coupled with casually elegant living. Leisure pursuits, health and wellness and sporting activities provide vital facets of Lissara living.
We invite you to learn more about Lissara homes and homesites and to explore our community.

Enjoy the extensive network of trails and common open-space. Encompassing nearly two miles of trails and protected streams, and 35 acres of natural areas offer encounters with nature, air of the valleys and perpetual natural preservation buffers where wildlife abounds.
For a more leisure walk you can cruise the nearly three miles of Lissara’s picturesque roadways and ponder the views along your way.
At one with the land...
While simple in concept, Low Impact Development is an approach with hundreds of design decisions. In brief, the approach is basic: reduce man’s footprint on the land. Practicing the principle of being “of the land”, Lissara is designed to be timeless and sustainable.
Utilizing the low-impact development standards, Lissara sought to group neighborhood homes together and consolidate development infrastructure; and offset that density by creating over 56 acres of wooded and undeveloped open-space, protecting the natural environment and movement of wildlife. Private roadways built to NCDOT Hilly Standards were designed to follow the land’s natural topography and significantly reduce grading and deforestation. Street curbs and storm-drainage were required only in the Townlands lots sections, about fourteen-percent, using natural grass-lined swales and curb-less roadways for filtering rainwater runoff and improved water quality. Sinuous roadways were designed to slow traffic and minimize glare into residences. Low-pressure sewer was utilized to significantly reduce grading and minimize the removal of the natural woodlands; also eliminating clearing for septic systems. 99% of the timber removed was recycled by selling timber for lumber, chipping limbs and foliage for industrial fuel and stumps were removed and ground into mulch and given to local suppliers of landscaping materials. All stone and boulders used for onsite construction of the rock bridges and wave protection on the dam were mined on site. The two bridges were constructed of open-bottom culverts to eliminate impacts to the natural stream-beds. Reduced clearing means cooler roads and roof-tops creating less solar heat-gain. By minimizing grading, deforestation was minimized which retains the forest canopy and lush understory; retaining the cool shading of the sun in the summer and retaining ground warmth throughout winter thereby reducing home energy consumption. Construction of the homes in Lissara will be to EnergyStar guidelines as a minimum. Top-to-bottom Lissara was designed with the health of our Mother Earth in mind.

While designing Lissara, the Partners were most concerned with minimal change to the lay of the land. This was not the project for the “Brief-case” developer. The partners walked and plotted, planned, sketched and walked again; the land to work with the terrain to reduce grading impacts. To protect the forest canopy with its cooling shadows; hardly a tree has been taken unneeded. Roadways were designed to NCDOT “Hilly Standards” to work with the topography yet allow for safe passage of traffic and pedestrians. The allowance for steeper road-grades, narrower road-widths and tighter curves allowed attention be turned to preserving the character of the land.
Over 50 acres are reserved as common areas with streams and wetlands being protected in perpetual conservation easements. The Lake at Lissara exemplifies sustainable land use practices, preserving our natural environment for generations to come. Beginning with the careful work of the development team, the legacy will be passed on to our residents as vigilant stewards of the land.

Consisting of 255 acres in area, the land contains over 2 miles of streams and wetlands that are being protected by perpetual conservation easements. 50 foot buffers surround our streams that will protect the ecological environment within those areas; filtering rainwater as it enters our streams, lake and the Yadkin River. A 50 foot buffer surrounding the 21 acre lake protects from homesite run-off by filtering the water as it enters the lake. Curb-less roads utilize grassed roadside swales to filter runoff back into the streams, lake and groundwater.
Starry, starry nights.
Lissara is dedicated to minimizing light pollution, which will help keep the sky dark and the stars bright. Removed from the lights of nearby urban surroundings, Lissara is devoted to protecting views of the stars, the celestial kind. The Observation Decks at the Timberlake Lodge offer an inviting setting for you to explore the stars and planets. With assistance from locally-based Norman L. Zimmerman, Lissara street light fixtures, patterned after those prepared for Bob Timberlake’s Galleries, were fabricated by local craftsmen with progressive “dark sky” design features included to help insure that light is directed down toward the ground rather than up into the night sky. A member of the International Dark Sky Association (IDA); Lissara uses the IDA handbook for compliance with Dark Sky Friendly lighting practices.