It is located near the hamlet of Rydal, between Grasmere and Ambleside in the Rothay Valley.

The lake is both supplied and drained by the river Rothay, which flows from Grasmere upstream and towards Windermere downstream.

[1] The waters of the southern half of the lake are leased by the Lowther Estate to the National Trust, whilst those of the northern half belong to the estate of Rydal Hall.

[1] Numerous walks are possible in the surrounding hills, as well as a walk around the lake itself, which takes in Dove Cottage and Rydal Mount, both homes to William Wordsworth, and Rydal Cave, a former quarry working.

In Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1838 is an engraving of a picture by George Pickering Rydal Water and Grasmere Lake., which is accompanied by a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon in which she expresses her homage to Wordsworth.