Selective cedar clearing, forestry mulching, home site prep and excavation for Hill Country acreage and new builds along US-290 and RM 12 — from Belterra and Caliterra to the ranchettes toward Henly and Driftwood.
Since 2022
Locally owned · Wimberley based
5.0 ★
19 Google reviews
Licensed & Insured
BBB Accredited
20+
Projects completed around Dripping Springs
Dripping Springs calls itself the Gateway to the Hill Country, and the ground backs it up — the city sits at about 1,168 feet in northern Hays County on shallow limestone soils, with Onion Creek draining the whole area southwest toward the Edwards Aquifer’s Barton Springs segment. US-290 runs through the middle of town toward Austin 23 miles east, RM 12 drops south toward Wimberley, and everything between is live oak, Spanish oak and a great deal of Ashe juniper.
Few places in Texas have changed faster. The city grew from 1,788 people in 2010 to 4,650 in 2020, Hays County was among the fastest-growing counties in the country, and master-planned communities like Belterra, Caliterra, Headwaters and Big Sky Ranch have joined the five-acre ranchettes along RM 12 and Creek Road. Nearly every one of those lots started the same way: cedar that had to come out, a pad that had to be cut into rock, and a driveway that had to be built to drain. That is the work land clearing contractors in Dripping Springs do every week, and it rewards a careful hand — the oaks are the reason people move here.
Bad Hog Land Clearing is based in Wimberley, 15 miles south on RM 12, and Dripping Springs has been part of our working territory since we started in 2022. Robert, Noah and the crew handle forestry mulching, selective clearing, site prep, driveways, fire breaks, light demolition and — as of 2026 — full excavation for homeowners, landowners and builders here. We walk every Dripping Springs property in person before we quote it, and we know the difference between a lot inside the city limits and one out in the ETJ when it comes to what the rules require.
Every service we offer is available throughout Dripping Springs and its ETJ — inside the city, in Belterra and the US-290 corridor, and on the acreage out toward Henly, Fitzhugh and Driftwood. From a single day of cedar mulching to a full build-ready site, here is what we do.
Dripping Springs sits in the contributing zone of the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer, and Onion Creek runs right through the middle of it — which is why we favor mulching here. Grinding cedar and brush in place leaves a mulch blanket that slows runoff and holds the thin soil instead of sending it toward the creek. It is the fastest way to open up an overgrown acreage lot along RM 12 or Creek Road without a single burn pile or dump run.
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Whether it is a five-acre ranchette south of town on RM 12 or an estate lot in The Ranches at Caliterra, most Dripping Springs properties carry the same problem: decades of Ashe juniper crowding out the live oaks and Spanish oaks the land is known for. We clear selectively — cedar, deadfall and underbrush go, established trees stay — and we flag every keeper with you on the walk-through before a machine starts. Inside the city limits, that walk-through also covers the Landscape and Tree Preservation Ordinance, which protects heritage trees of 18 inches and larger.
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Builders in Dripping Springs are working on Brackett-series soils — 5 to 20 inches of dirt over Glen Rose limestone, according to the NRCS — so a home pad is as much a rock job as a dirt job. We handle rough clearing, rock moving, grading and subgrade so your foundation contractor starts on a pad that drains and sits level. From new builds in Headwaters and Big Sky Ranch to custom homes on acreage off Fitzhugh Road, we get the site ready for the slab.
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Long driveways are the norm on Dripping Springs acreage, and the ground between the road and the home site is usually rock, cedar and a drainage problem waiting to happen. We cut, grade and base driveways and access roads built to shed water, including temporary construction roads for larger builds. Properties off US-290, Creek Road and the rural stretches of FM 150 toward Driftwood are our most common driveway calls in this area.
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Hays County has gone under countywide burn bans as recently as December 2025 through January 2026, and the cedar-heavy hills around Dripping Springs carry a serious fuel load in a dry year. We create defensible space around homes, barns and outbuildings with mechanical mulching and strategic clearing, reducing fuel without stripping the lot. For homes on the larger tracts outside the city limits — toward Henly, Hays City and the Hamilton Pool Road side — a maintained fire break is one of the best investments on the property.
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Older homesteads and ranch tracts around Dripping Springs often come with a collapsed barn, an abandoned pump house or a slab that needs to go before the land can be cleared or sold. We handle small structure removal, stump grinding and limited tree work as part of a larger clearing scope. When a Hays County burn ban is in effect, nothing is burned — debris is mulched, chipped or hauled.
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Our excavation crew handles foundation and pad excavation, rock removal and grading for new construction on the limestone that underlies every lot from Belterra to the ranchettes west of town. We assess how much rock is in the ground during the site walk so the estimate reflects reality. Excavation is our newest service line, launched in 2026, and it pairs with site prep so one crew takes your Dripping Springs lot from raw ground to build-ready.
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The soil around Dripping Springs is the Brackett series — the NRCS lists its type location right here in Hays County near RR 32 and RR 12 — and it is 5 to 20 inches of dirt over Glen Rose limestone. Clear it carelessly and you are left with bare rock and silt headed for the nearest draw. Because the city sits in the contributing zone of the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer and Onion Creek runs through it, we keep soil disturbance to what the job actually needs and leave a mulch layer wherever we can.
Our crew runs up RM 12 from Wimberley, so the ranchettes south of town through Fitzhugh are on our way, and we work the full US-290 corridor from Belterra on the east to the Henly side on the west, plus Creek Road and RM 150 toward Driftwood. We know which driveways need the small equipment and which lots back up to a creek crossing that floods.
Most of our Dripping Springs work is new-build site prep in and around communities like Caliterra, Headwaters and Big Sky Ranch, cedar clearing for views and usable yard space on two-to-ten-acre lots, and driveways and fire breaks on the larger tracts outside the city limits. Storm and drought die-off cleanup — dead cedar and oak limbs — comes up every year.
Inside the city limits, the Landscape and Tree Preservation Ordinance protects heritage trees of 18 inches and larger, so we identify them on the walk-through and work around them. Outside the city, Hays County Development Services handles floodplain and OSSF (septic) permits, and TCEQ contributing-zone rules may apply once a project disturbs five acres or more. We avoid pruning or wounding oaks from February through June because of oak wilt, and when Hays County issues a burn ban — as it did from December 2025 into January 2026 — we mulch, chip or haul instead of burning.
Robert and Noah meet you on the lot — a new pad in Headwaters or ten acres off Creek Road — and listen to what you want to keep and what needs to go before putting a number on paper. Customers regularly mention that we spent an hour walking the land and then stuck to the estimate.
We take out the cedar, deadfall and underbrush and leave the live oaks and Spanish oaks that make Dripping Springs land worth owning. If a tree is 18 inches or bigger inside the city limits, we already know it is protected — and we treat your other mature trees the same way.
Shallow Brackett soil, Onion Creek drainage, aquifer rules, septic permits and burn bans are everyday realities in Hays County, not surprises. We plan for them so your project does not stall.
We send a copy of our insurance with the estimate when you ask, and we are accredited with the Better Business Bureau. Your Dripping Springs project is protected from day one.
We are a small crew based 15 miles down RM 12 in Wimberley, not a call center. Call (737) 373-2035 and you reach the people doing the work.
Bad Hog Land Clearing serves land clearing, mulching and excavation customers throughout Dripping Springs, its ETJ and the Hays County communities around it. If you are between US-290 and Wimberley, you are in our core service area.
Cedar density, slope and rock decide the price, and Dripping Springs lots range from open oak savanna to wall-to-wall juniper on a limestone bench. Forestry mulching is usually the most economical because nothing is hauled or burned. We walk the property and give a written estimate we stick to. [CLIENT TO CONFIRM: typical per-acre or per-day range for Dripping Springs jobs, if Bad Hog wants to publish one.]
Yes. Inside the city limits, the Landscape and Tree Preservation Ordinance prohibits removing heritage trees — 18 inches in diameter and larger, of specific species — and limits removal of standard trees on commercial projects. We identify protected trees during the walk-through and work around them. Outside the city limits the ordinance does not apply the same way, but we treat your mature oaks as keepers regardless — confirm specifics with the City of Dripping Springs before a project starts.
Forestry mulching grinds standing cedar, brush and deadfall into mulch that stays on the ground — no burn piles, no dump runs. On the shallow Brackett soils around Dripping Springs that mulch layer holds moisture and slows erosion, which matters when every lot drains toward Onion Creek and the aquifer. It is our go-to for view clearing, usable yard space and fuel reduction.
Dripping Springs sits in the contributing zone of the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer, and TCEQ rules may require a contributing-zone plan once a project disturbs five acres or more. Hays County also requires a floodplain development permit for work in mapped flood areas, which includes stretches along Onion Creek and its tributaries. We flag what applies to your parcel during the estimate.
Rock drives the price. A driveway from US-290 or RM 12 back to a home site a quarter-mile off the road costs more than the same length on soft ground because of the cutting, base and drainage involved. Excavation for a pad follows the same logic — how much limestone has to come out and how far it has to move. We quote both after a site walk.
Yes. Belterra sits in the Dripping Springs ETJ with an Austin mailing address, and we serve it along with the rest of the US-290 corridor, Fitzhugh, Henly, Hays City and the acreage toward Driftwood. Because ETJ lots fall under Hays County rather than the city for permits, we also know which rules change once you cross the city line. If you are unsure whether we cover your spot, call (737) 373-2035.
Whether you have a cedar-covered lot off RM 12, a new pad to prep near Headwaters, or acreage toward Henly that needs a fire break, Bad Hog Land Clearing is ready to come out and walk it with you. Free estimates, straight answers, and a crew that shows up on time — serving Dripping Springs, Belterra, Driftwood, Wimberley and the surrounding Hill Country.
