Lake Shikaribetsu is the only natural lake in Daisetsuzan National Park, and is the highest in Hokkaido at 810m above sea level, with its deepest point about 100m. The lake is surrounded by virgin forest (of Abies sachalinensis, Ezo spruce, and Erman's birch), conveying the ancient natural environment to the present day.

The lake is a dammed lake formed when a river was dammed up during an eruption about 30,000 years ago, and has a circumference of about 13km. Nine bays form along the complex shoreline, with Benten Island floating on the north side of the lake. Mount Tenbo, located to the east of the lake, is nicknamed Kuchibiruyama (Lip Mountain) because of its shape and the shape of its reflection on the lake's surface, and has become the symbol of Lake Shikaribetsu.

The surrounding area is home to precious wild animals such as the living fossil "pika," which is said to have lived there since the Ice Age, as well as ospreys, white-tailed eagles, black woodpeckers, and grey herons.