Its approximately 185 km (115 mi)-long shoreline, a large part of which consists of an old lakebed with clay and deposits of silt, is strongly exposed to erosion because of development for power production.

With its long shoreline and innumerable larger and smaller islands and narrow bays, Toke is a popular destination for boaters and sport fishers.

[3] After the last ice age, about 9,500 years ago, the sea along the coast of Telemark was about 100 metres (330 ft) higher than today and the old Drangedalsfjorden reached about 60 km (37 mi) into the mainland from Kragerø, through Drangedal, and up to Bø in Tørdal (this fjord was where the present lake is now located).

[4] The owner of this boat, Halvor H. Strømme, had plans to build a canal in the area from Merkebekk down to the sea, but nothing came of it.

Today the sightseeing boat MS Tokedølen II [no] sails on Toke: from Prestestranda in the north to Rørholtfjorden in Bamble and Merkebekk in Kragerø to the south.

Kragerøvassdragets fellesfløtningsforening (English: Kragerø Watershed Logging Association) was given the first rights to regulate and dam Toke (and Hoseidvann) in 1899.

[7] With the advent of electricity, the rights to dam Toke were given to Norsk Elektrokemisk Aktieselskap (Norwegian Electrochemical Corporation) in 1916.

Since the beginning, regulation has been the subject of repeated complaints from the landowners along Toke, including Drangedal municipality.