Its primary inflow and outflow is the River Derwent, which also flows through Bassenthwaite Lake before reaching the Irish Sea at Workington.

There are seven lakeside marinas, the most popular stops being Keswick, Portinscale and the Lodore Falls, from which boats may be hired.

Recreational walking is a major tourist activity in the area and there is an extensive network of footpaths in the hills and woods surrounding the lake.

The Keswick to Borrowdale road runs along the eastern shore of the lake and carries a regular bus service.

[9] A slightly cropped and colour hue-edited real photo with an open view of the Derwentwater was used by Team Silent as a backdrop image at the very beginning of the Konami's "Silent Hill 2" video game, to serve as a higher ground touristic observational viewpoint of the fictional "Toluca Lake" (not to be confused with Toluca Lake, Los Angeles) in the local area encompassing the fictional eponymous town of "Silent Hill", Maine.

Derwentwater was used as the principal location for the planet Takodana in the sci fi movie sequel Star Wars: The Force Awakens.