There are no written records about First Nations visits to Mahood Lake, but they did use this valley because pictographs can be seen about halfway along the south shore.

The Mahood Lake area was the centre of considerable attention between 1872 and 1874 when three separate groups of Canadian Pacific Railway surveyors passed along its shores.

Their objective was to find a feasible route for the railway from Yellowhead Pass in the Rocky Mountains westward to the Pacific Ocean.

While examining his favoured route eastward from the inlet in September 1872, he spent a grueling few days traversing Mahood Lake's rugged northern shore.

For the next 20 years, the Lodge attracted celebrities for the excellent fishing in Mahood Lake and even earned a recommendation from Duncan Hines, the travel writer.

The McNeils sold the Lodge in 1959 and moved to 100 Mile House where their seven children could attend school instead of relying on a correspondence education program.

This deep valley was carved by glaciers, but there are remnants of lava flows north of the east end of the lake and along the Canim River upstream.

It is 8 km (5.0 mi) long, draining Canim Lake, and most of this distance is through a rugged gorge carved in lava.

The Mahood Lake Road ends 5 km (3.1 mi) past the campground at Deception Point which is one of only three private properties within Wells Gray Park.