Campbell Lake was formed in 1958 when Anchorage residents David Alm and George McCullough constructed an earthen dam to block the outflow of Campbell Creek, creating an artificial lake over intertidal wetlands.

[2] It is home to several notable Anchorage residents including former newspaper publisher Alice Rogoff, who hosted sitting US President Barack Obama at her lakeside residence in 2015 during his only visit to Alaska.

[4][5] During the 2018 Anchorage earthquake, a sewer pipe became dislodged under the lakebed, requiring drainage of the lake in May 2019 for repairs.

Lake water temperatures exhibit a thermocline in summer and a reverse thermocline in winter, with surface temperatures varying between approximately 0 °C (32 °F) in December to 18 °C (64 °F) in July.

[2][7][8] In December 2019, the City of Anchorage and the State of Alaska released a joint statement clarifying that the lake is open to the public for "boating and all forms of permissible recreation.