Land clearing in Wimberley, TX
Selective clearing for Hill Country lots and acreage. Brush, cedar, small trees and overgrowth taken out to open up access, sight lines and usable ground, with the oaks worth keeping left standing.
ISA Certified Arborist, Santos BonillaFree estimates$1M liability insuredLocally owned and operatedRated 5.0 across 96 Google reviewsOpening land up without stripping it
Clearing here is nearly always selective. Take the cedar and the brush, keep the oaks and the native growth, and the land comes back better than a bare scrape ever would.
- Overgrown cedar crowding out the hardwoods
- Fence lines that need a clear corridor to set posts
- Driveways, access roads and ranch entrances
- Clearing to a footprint for a build, barn or septic field
- Defensible space around a house or outbuilding
- Sight lines and usable ground on acreage
Selective, not scraped
We work with chainsaws and controlled removal around what stays, which is slower than running a machine over everything but leaves the soil and the good trees intact.
Our process
No call center and no chasing. Santos walks the property himself, and the written price covers the work described in it.
We walk the ground
Density, terrain, access, and which trees are worth keeping.
We mark what stays
Agreed with you before anything is cut, so there are no surprises.
We clear carefully
Controlled removal around structures and keepers, with minimal ground disturbance on rocky terrain.
We deal with the debris
Chipped on site and spread, stacked where you want it, or hauled away.
What land clearing costs in Wimberley
Clearing is priced on acreage, how dense the cedar and brush are, how steep and rocky the ground is, how selective you want us to be, and what happens to the material afterwards. Selective work costs more per acre than a blanket clear, and it is usually worth it.
We walk the property and give you a written price. Chipping on site is often cheaper than hauling, and during a burn ban it is the practical alternative to piling and burning.
Selective clearing, and why we do it by hand
There are two ways to clear Hill Country land. A machine with a mulching head runs over everything and leaves a flat brown surface. A crew with saws takes out what you want gone and leaves what you want kept. We do the second, and it is worth explaining why.
The soil here is thin, often only a few inches over solid limestone. Heavy equipment and excessive soil disturbance can increase compaction and erosion risk, particularly on steep Hill Country terrain with shallow soils. Once that soil is gone it does not come back in a lifetime. Hand clearing keeps the ground intact and lets us work tight against the trees and structures that are staying.
It also lets us be genuinely selective. Marking a mature live oak to keep is easy on paper and much harder when a mulching head is already moving. We walk the ground with you first, agree what stays, and then cut around it.
What affects the cost of clearing
Density is the biggest factor. Scattered cedar on open ground clears quickly. A closed cedar thicket where the canopies have grown together is a completely different rate per acre.
Terrain and access come next. Flat ground a truck can cross is straightforward. A rocky slope where everything has to be carried out by hand is not.
How selective you want us to be changes the pace. Clearing everything inside a marked boundary is faster than picking through a stand keeping every hardwood over a certain size.
Debris handling is the last piece. Chipping on site and spreading the material is normally cheapest and puts organic matter back on ground that badly needs it. Stacking for firewood costs a little more. Full haul-off costs the most.
What clearing does to the land afterwards
Take dense cedar off a piece of ground and three things happen over the following couple of seasons. Removing dense cedar can improve light and reduce competition, creating better conditions for grasses and native vegetation. Recovery varies depending on rainfall, soil conditions, existing vegetation, and the remaining seed bank. The hardwoods that were being crowded put on noticeable growth. And the fuel load close to your buildings drops sharply, which matters a great deal in a dry summer.
What does not happen is instant lawn. Cleared Hill Country ground looks rough for a season before it fills in, and that is normal.
Burn bans and what to do with the material
What we cannot do
We do not run forestry mulching equipment. A mulching head on a skid steer is a different service with a different cost base, and if that is genuinely what your acreage needs then you want a contractor who owns one. We clear by hand with saws, which suits selective work, tight spaces and ground we do not want compacted, and does not suit forty acres that need levelling in a week. We would rather point you elsewhere than take a job we would do badly, and we work with forestry mulching outfits we are happy to recommend when that is genuinely the right tool for your ground.
Hays and Comal counties spend a good part of most years under a burn ban, which catches people out when the plan was to pile and burn. Chipping is the practical alternative: the material stays on your property as cover instead of going up in smoke, and there is nothing to wait for. Check the current county order before you plan on burning anything.
What land clearing covers
Land clearing removes brush, overgrowth and debris efficiently, and it prepares sites for construction projects, driveways, fence lines and septic fields. It also simply creates more usable outdoor space on a property that has closed in. Land clearing services are available for both residential and commercial properties here, from a suburban lot to acreage.
Working on Hill Country ground
Local terrain challenges include rocky limestone and steep slopes, and both change how clearing is done and what it costs. Thin soil over rock means that stripping a slope bare invites erosion, and the roots you remove may be a good part of what is holding the ground together.
That is why we clear selectively rather than scraping. Take the cedar and the brush, keep the oaks and the native growth, and the land comes back better than a bare scrape ever would.
What happens to the material
Chipping reduces tree debris into manageable mulch, and chipping services help clear land for new projects without a burn pile or a dozen trailer loads to the tip. Mulching improves soil health and moisture retention, and mulch can suppress weed growth in the areas you are keeping.
You choose: chipped and spread on site, stockpiled for later, or hauled away. See chipping and mulching.
Permits and boundaries
Permitting requirements exist for tree removal in Wimberley and vary by property and by tree. On a clearing job that usually matters for the larger specimen trees rather than the brush. If you are inside the city, check with City of Wimberley Planning and Development before work is booked, and an HOA or deed restriction can apply in some subdivisions.
Further reading
More on clearing, and what it gives you back.
- The benefits of clearing brush – Access, defensible space, easier maintenance and usable ground.
- Clearing for access and roadways – How construction clearing differs from residential tree work.
- Fire mitigation and defensible space – The zones that matter and why cedar is the problem.
What often goes with this job
Where the job is mostly cedar, see cedar clearing and pasture clearing. Individual large trees inside a clearing area come out under tree removal, and retained oaks can be evaluated for any pruning that may be appropriate after clearing. Material from the clearing can be chipped and spread rather than hauled.
What Hill Country property owners say
Rated 5.0 across 96 Google reviews. Homeowners and acreage owners on the crew, the cleanup, and the price holding to the quote.
Read Our Google ReviewsClearing across the Hill Country
Acreage and lots across Hays, Comal and Blanco counties.
Land clearing questions
Straight answers, including what the work actually costs.
What does it cost to clear an acre in Texas?
Too variable to quote blind. Light brush on flat ground and heavy cedar on a rocky slope are different jobs by a wide margin. We walk it and give you a written figure.
Will you keep the trees I want to keep?
Yes, and we mark them with you before anything is cut. Keeping the mature oaks is normally the whole point.
Do you use a mulching machine?
No. We do chainsaw based selective clearing. It is slower than a mulching head but it lets us work tight to structures and around trees we are keeping, and it does far less damage to thin Hill Country soil.
What happens to the brush?
Chipped on site and spread as ground cover, stacked where you want it, or hauled off. Chipping is usually cheapest and it is the sensible option during a burn ban.
Can you clear near a house or fence?
Yes. Working tight to structures is the reason we clear by hand rather than by machine.
What to ask before you hire any tree service
Most of the difference between a good outcome and an expensive one is settled before anyone climbs. These are worth checking whoever you hire, including us.
Ask who is assessing the tree. Certified arborists can assess tree health and conditions, and on a borderline tree that judgment is the whole job. If the credential matters to you, ask directly whether the person quoting holds an ISA certification and ask for the number. Plenty of companies imply it without holding it, so it is a fair question to put to anyone. Santos is an ISA Certified Arborist and his number is TX-390690A.
Ask for the insurance certificate, and read it. General liability is what stands behind damage to your property if something goes wrong during the work. Ours is $1,000,000 general liability ($2,000,000 aggregate) through American Builders Insurance Company, and we send it before we start. Ask any company you call to send theirs.
Ask what equipment the job needs. Proper equipment is essential for removing trees in challenging locations, and professional-grade equipment is most of what separates a controlled job from a hopeful one. On a steep or tight Hill Country site the honest answer is sometimes that the job needs kit a particular crew does not own.
Get it in writing. A tree job needs a clear, written estimate detailing all services included: which trees, whether the stump is included, whether wood is hauled or left, whether brush is chipped on site, and the job site clean-up standard.
Check reviews and references. Reviews and references are important for choosing a reliable tree service, and satisfied customers in a place this size are easy to check. Ask for addresses of recent jobs nearby.
Ask about oak wilt protocol. Texas Hill Country tree services follow oak wilt prevention protocols, or they should. That means sealing oak cuts promptly, cleaning saws between properties, and disposing of oak debris properly. Material from an oak suspected of oak wilt is handled separately, because fungal mats form on infected red oak wood.
Tree care services that often come with the job
Very few properties need only one thing done, and handling them on one visit costs less than bringing a crew back.
Emergency and storm work. Emergency tree services respond quickly to storm damage and are essential for safety after severe weather, and storm damage cleanup includes clearing fallen trees and branches. Dead and hazardous trees can pose risks to people and property, and removing them can reduce those risks. Emergency tree services are available for residential and commercial properties, and professional-grade equipment is used for emergency tree removal.
Removals. Tree removal is necessary for diseased or storm-damaged trees and is essential for property safety and management, and trees in the wrong location may require removal for safety. Professional tree removal uses equipment for safe extraction where the drop zone is tight. Tree removal processes typically involve on-site assessments and cleanup rather than a price over the phone, and specific precautions are necessary for dealing with oak wilt during tree removal.
Oak work specifically. Wimberley faces severe pressure from oak wilt, a fungal disease that kills oak trees, so how an oak is cut matters more here than the date on the calendar. Every oak cut is painted on the spot, tools are disinfected before we work on an oak, and oak brush is chipped rather than left on site. Oak wilt treatment itself requires licensed professionals, which is separate work we do not take on.
Health and ongoing care. Proper tree care improves safety and long-term health, and catching a problem early is almost always cheaper than the removal it turns into. Oak wilt treatment requires licensed professionals for effective management, so the useful first step is an honest diagnosis rather than a product.
Trimming and pruning. Tree trimming improves safety and long-term health of trees, and tree pruning helps remove hazardous limbs and improve structure rather than just tidying the outline. Professional tree trimming can improve property appearance and views, and appropriate pruning can reduce some structural risks. Regular inspection and appropriate maintenance can help identify and reduce tree-related risks. Tree trimming services are available for both residential and commercial properties.
Land Clearing Wimberley TX
Wimberley Tree Service is a locally owned tree service company, owner operated, and the same small team does the work on every job. We are based in Wimberley TX and cover Hays County and the surrounding areas, including Dripping Springs, Driftwood, San Marcos, Kyle, Buda, Blanco, Bee Cave and Austin, with nearby areas across Comal and Blanco counties served on the same terms.
We work for homeowners, ranch and acreage owners, builders, clients and property managers, on both residential and commercial properties. Whether it is one dead tree in a back yard, dead limbs and branches over a driveway, or a whole fence line that has disappeared into cedar, the process is the same: we come out, look at it, and give you a written price that fits the unique needs of the property.
Every estimate is a free estimate, and we will tell you when we can get out to look. Scheduling the work itself is a separate thing: we run about a month booked out, and we will give you a real date rather than a hopeful one. Emergencies are the exception and are fitted in as soon as the crew can get there. We are $1M liability insured, we take great care to leave the job site clean, and we will tell you when a tree does not need the work you asked about.
A four person crew, and years of Hill Country tree work. The business has run under this name since April 2025. Orlyn and Matt climb, Aurelio works the ground, and Santos comes out on the jobs that need him. That is who turns up: the same small crew every time, not a subcontractor you have never met. Our minimum charge for a job is $500.
You get options, not one number. Every estimate is itemised and normally comes with three to five ways to approach the job, priced separately, so you can see what each part costs and choose the scope yourself. Most people find one of the middle options is the job they actually wanted. We work in English and Spanish.
Got land that needs opening up?
We will walk it with you, mark what stays, and put a price in writing.