Lake Matheson has traditionally been known as a mahinga kai (food gathering place) for Māori people in the area, who would frequent the lake to catch long finned eel or water birds. Since European settlement and the rise of tourism in the 20th century, the lake has become renowned as a tourism destination for its reflections of the Southern Alps, including New Zealand's highest peaks of Aoraki / Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. The lake was offered as an early morning excursion by the nearby Fox Hotel, and has since become an iconic image used on souvenirs and to represent the West Coast of New Zealand.