It is approximately 50 km (31 mi) north of High Prairie on Highway 2.

Named after John K. McLennan, vice president of the Edmonton, Dunvegan and British Columbia Railway on what used to be a community known as Round Lake,[5] the town lies on the southern shore of Kimiwan Lake (the Cree word for rain), and northwest of Winagami Lake.

The large concentration of shorebirds and waterfowl and McLennan's informal nickname as the 'Bird Capital of Canada' is due to the nearby lakes creating an attraction for migratory birds.

[6] Winagami Lake Provincial Park is located 29 km (18 mi) southeast of McLennan.

Its Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste, dedicated to John the Baptist, and built in 1947[7] is the archiepiscopal see of the Metropolitan Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Grouard–McLennan.