Public roads provide good access to much of the lake.
Built to provide a variety of recreational opportunities, including swimming, the lake once was the recreational hot spot for the western Albemarle County. In 1979 the swimming beach and the concession building were both closed. The lake now is managed solely for fishing and boating. Albemarle Lake is nestled in a small stream valley twenty minutes west of the city of Charlottesville. The narrow S shaped lake of thirty-five acres has an average depth of 36 feet neat the outlet tower at the dam.