How To Make A Dry Creek Bed

Are you ready to transform your yard? Go from eww to new in just a few weeks! Follow along as we show you how to make a dry creek bed for your front yard.

My Favorite Landscaping Project Yet!

Thanks for stopping by today! I’m excited to share one of my all-time favorite projects—how to build a dry creek bed. Our home sits on a corner lot, and we’ve always felt a strong responsibility to set the tone for the rest of the street. But for years, while we focused on renovating the inside of our house, the front yard was left untouched.

That all changed in 2021. Two years into the pandemic, with more time at home than ever, we finally decided to give our front yard the attention it deserved. The result? A stunning dry creek bed that not only enhances our curb appeal but also helps with drainage and landscaping aesthetics.

Let’s dive into the process so you can create one too!

The Yard Before

Our yard originally had a narrow strip of grass, a bit of bark dust, a few random plants, and two rose bushes that I just couldn’t stand. It felt dull, uninspired, and honestly, a little depressing. I could hardly stand to look at it!

The Inspiration

Our goal was to create a modern yet organic yard that blended the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest valleys with contemporary elements like a wood deck and cement slabs. We drew inspiration from the creeks, rivers, and landscapes surrounding the Oregon coast, aiming for a design that felt both structured and natural.

I’ll dive into the full yard transformation in another post, but for now, I’m excited to share how we designed our dry creek bed!

How To Make A Dry Creek Bed

Before we could start building the dry creek bed, we had some prep work to do. This included removing a tree and clearing out all the grass from the yard. Prep will look different for everyone, but my biggest piece of advice is to start with a clean slate. Remove anything that needs to go so you’re left with nothing but good old dirt—this will make the process much easier!

Map Out The Space

Mapping out the space for your dry creek bed is crucial because once you start, making adjustments can be a lot of work. In our case, we decided to keep a tree stump in place to save money on removal and used it to our advantage. Since we wanted the creek bed to have a concave shape in the middle, we incorporated the stump as one of the high points along the edge.

Because shaping the creek bed required some digging, we took the important step of calling 8-1-1 to check for power, gas, and sewer lines before breaking ground. Be sure to look up the appropriate number for your state or region—it was a free service for us, and they arrived within 48 hours to assess and mark any underground lines. Fortunately, most of our utilities were on the other side of the yard. Huge relief!

Select The Rock

I took a trip to our local rock yard to handpick the stones. Since I was working within a budget, I chose the most affordable option—basalt rock (pictured on the left). This type of rock has a beautifully natural look and comes in a range of sizes. At our local supplier, it was about $0.49 per pound.

I knew I wanted a few large boulders to create a natural barrier at the back of the creek bed, along with a mix of small to medium rocks to shape the main design. I selected three large boulders that needed to be delivered: one weighing 800 lbs. (around $400), another at 500 lbs. (about $250), and a smaller 150-lb. boulder (roughly $75). This ended up being the biggest expense of the project.

For the smaller details, I loaded up a cart with medium-sized basalt rocks—light enough for me to carry home myself. In addition to the basalt, we had two yards of 2″-6″ river rock delivered to form the inner bed of the creek.

And can we take a moment to appreciate the delivery process? Not to mention all the sweat and muscle that went into moving these rocks… What a workout!

Form The Creek Bed

Working with the natural contours of our yard, we started by placing the largest rocks to establish the main focal point of the creek bed. From there, we arranged medium-sized basalt rocks to outline the overall shape. This part took some trial and error—we experimented with different placements until we found a design that felt just right.

While the shape was coming together nicely, we struggled to determine how to finish off the top and bottom of the creek bed. After some brainstorming, we decided to create a tapered tip at both ends to give it a more natural, but polished look.

Dig The Creek Shape

With the rock outline in place, it was time to start digging! And when I say “we,” I really mean my husband did all the hard work—haha! We didn’t need to dig too deep, so we carved out a stair-step shape to achieve the look we wanted.

Instead of hauling away the excess dirt, we used it to build up the sides of the creek bed. Thinking ahead, we knew we’d be adding flowers and plants around the area, so we intentionally left dirt patches for future landscaping.

Fill In With Small Rock

With the main shape defined by the large rocks, it was time to fill in the creek bed with smaller river rock. And let me tell you—we placed every single rock by hand. Every. Single. One. It took about a week of careful arranging to get it just right.

To create a natural flow, we started with the larger rocks along the outer edges, gradually transitioning to smaller stones as the creek bed dipped inward. This layering effect helped achieve the perfect concave look we envisioned.

The Yard After

I’m absolutely in love with our dry creek bed, but the best part? Seeing people drive by and stop to take pictures of our yard! Tim and I often sit outside, just admiring the beauty of the creek bed and how it all came together. The surrounding plants make it even more stunning, adding texture and color to the landscape. I’ll dive into all the details about the plants in another blog post—stay tuned!

Tips

If you’re looking to keep costs down, skip the large boulders and opt for bigger river rocks instead.
Some people recommend using landscape fabric underneath the rocks to help with weed control, but we chose to skip that step. Since we planned to have plants and ground cover grow between the rocks, we felt fabric wasn’t necessary.
To keep weeds at bay, we use a product called Preen – weed preventer to prevent weeds from growing in between the rocks.
Keep in mind, the rocks will settle over time, so plan on replenishing the creek bed with a few extra buckets of rock about a year later to maintain its shape and appearance.

I hope you love this project as much as I do! We are absolutely in love with this dry creek bed and can’t wait to see its transformation from year to year.

PIN FOR LATER!