It is located north of the Queensway, west of Beaverbrook, east of Terry Fox Drive, and south of Morgan's Grant.

Kanata Lakes is located about 20 km (12 mi) west-southwest of Downtown Ottawa.

The area that is today Kanata Lakes was originally part of the Township of March, and was first settled by Europeans in the early 19th century.

Modern Kanata is largely the creation of William Teron, a developer who purchased 4,000 acres (16 km2) of rural land and set about building a model community: "A Garden City".

KNL Developments, a consortium, consisting of Urbandale and Richcraft, as well as Uniform and Cardel, are clear-cutting 2 km2 (0.77 sq mi) of the Beaver Pond Forest to facilitate further development of Kanata Lakes.