The lake covers an area of 38 acres (0.15 km2), and the surrounding natural area is administered by Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and includes aquatic gardens, fishing piers, and hiker-biker trails.

Sand and gravel were excavated from the site of a smaller lake and the surrounding area to construct the rail beds and parking lots for the College Park–University of Maryland and Greenbelt stations.

During the construction phase, signs identified the site as "Lake Metro."

The park is named for Artemesia N. Drefs, who donated ten lots to the county for preservation as open space in 1972.

[3] The smaller lake that existed on the site, which was created in the mid-1800s when stone was quarried from the area for use on the B&O Railroad's Washington Branch line,[4] was already named Lake Artemesia after Artemesia's mother and grandmother, who shared the same name.