Prior to the establishment of the modern city of Sudbury, the lake was known to the local Ojibwe population as Bitimagamasing, or "water that lies on the side of the hill".

The city's Bell Park is also located nearby, and the Jim Gordon Boardwalk connects the two sites along the lakeshore.

On the eastern end of the lake, Moonlight Beach is a popular recreational facility, and the Lake Laurentian Conservation Area is a large wilderness park which offers both recreational and environmental education programs.

However, following the 1972 construction of the Inco Superstack, which dispersed smelter emissions from the city's mining industry over a wider area, a major environmental project was launched to clean up the lake's water and reintroduce aquatic life.

In fact, Sudbury is inside Ontario, 214 miles (344 km) north of Toronto.