The Lake of the Woods region spans portions of Eastern Manitoba, Northwestern Minnesota and Northwestern Ontario.

The largest populated place on Lake of the Woods is 1 Kenora, Ontario (pop. 15,000) on the Trans-Canada Highway mainline north of the lake.

On the south shore, Minnesota "mainland" points include:

• 2 Warroad (near 3 Sprague, Manitoba); and
• 4 Baudette (near 5 Rainy River, Ontario).

There is one isolated community, 6 Angle Inlet (pop. 60), on the west side of the lake in Northwest Angle, Minnesota. The only overland access to this part of Minnesota is through Manitoba. The area is popular among recreational anglers.