Roosevelt Lake is the oldest of the six reservoirs constructed and operated by the Salt River Project.

It also has the largest storage capacity of the SRP lakes with the ability to store 1,653,043 acre-feet (2.039 km3) of water when the conservation limit of Roosevelt Dam is reached.

Tonto National Forest operates camping and day use areas around Roosevelt Lake.

Until recently, Lake Roosevelt also hosted the state's most significant population of the federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher.

The 800 miles (1,300 km) long hiking trail extending from the Arizona-Mexico border to Utah crosses the Salt River on the State Route 188 bridge that crosses Theodore Roosevelt Lake just northeast of Roosevelt Dam.