[1] Bordered on the north by Springdale, the lake was created as a water supply for the City of Fayetteville, but now serves as recreational lake surrounded by residential neighborhoods and as a focal point along the Razorback Regional Greenway for cyclists and trail users throughout Northwest Arkansas.

The Clear Creek watershed contains rapidly developing areas of both cities; as a result, stormwater washes sediment and dissolved nutrients into Lake Fayetteville, including nitrogen and phosphorus.

The Lake Fayetteville Nature Trail is a dirt path with tree markers passing through the oak-hickory forest typical of the Ozark Mountains.

Students from Fayetteville Public Schools and Springdale Public Schools have jointly studied the water for biology and hydrology classes using the Springdale-Fayetteville Center for the Study of Aquatic Resources on the lake since 1974.

[7] After an risk-based inspection by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission describing a consequence of failure submerging the city of Johnson, Arkansas, the City of Fayetteville removed many large sycamore trees from the dam in 2017, and planted wildflowers.