The lake was named after the Big Stick Trail that ran between the town of Maple Creek and the South Saskatchewan River.

[5] The drainage basin for Bigstick Lake is endorheic, covering an area of about 7,600 km2 (2,900 sq mi) between the South Saskatchewan River drainage basin to the west, north, and east and the Milk River and its tributaries to the south.

The primary inflow for the lake is Maple Creek, which begins at an elevation of over 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) in the Cypress Hills.

Bigstick Lake and part of its watershed are within two Important Bird Areas (IBA) of Canada – Maple Creek Grasslands (SK 041)[6] and Bigstick Lake Plain (SK 042) – that total 1,520 km2 (590 sq mi) of protected bird habitat.

Most of the land within the IBA is either community pasture or operated by the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA).