It lies in an elevated position in Glen Trool in the Galloway Forest Park and is approximately 8 miles (13 km) north of the town of Newton Stewart.

[3] In April 1307 Robert the Bruce fought and won the Battle of Glen Trool on the shores of the loch.

On its north side stands Bruce's Stone which commemorates the victory.

Loch Trool is also reported to be the darkest place in the UK at night[citation needed].

The loch was surveyed[1] in 1903 by James Murray and later charted [4] as part of Sir John Murray's Bathymetrical Survey of Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland 1897-1909.