Several small lakes and reservoirs are in Lakewood. The Soda Lakes lie in the extreme southwestern part of the city. East of them lies Bear Creek Lake, a reservoir fed by Bear Creek and Turkey Creek. Clustered near each other in central Lakewood are Main Reservoir, East Reservoir, Smith Reservoir, Kendrick Lake, and Cottonwood Lake. Northeast of them lies Kountze Lake. In the northwestern part of the city, Lena Gulch both feeds and drains Maple Grove Reservoir. In the extreme southern part of the city lies Bowles Reservoir No. 1 and, just outside the city limits to the reservoir's northeast, Marston Lake.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.06 square miles (114.1 km2) of which 42.88 sq mi (111.1 km2) are land and 1.18 sq mi (3.1 km2) (2.7%) are covered by water.

The earliest settlement in Lakewood can be traced to those looking to profit from the Colorado Gold Rush in the late 1800s. Discovery of gold brought a migration of people to the region, and eventually settlers began establishing communities near the foothills. Small farms, dairies, and orchards supplied the communities in the area and were the origins of Lakewood.

The City of Lakewood was incorporated as Jefferson City. Soon after, an election was held and the city's name was changed to Lakewood, due to an overwhelming dislike of "Jefferson City" and the belief that it would be confused with existing communities in Colorado and Missouri.

There were several efforts to incorporate into a city during the 1940s and 1950s, but they failed. In 1969, fears of annexation to Denver and a lack of law enforcement resources began to concern residents, who now numbered over 90,000. Boundaries for a new city were drawn on a basement ping pong table in the home of James Jeff "Jim" Richey, chairman of the Citizens for Incorporation. In June 1969, those living in neighborhoods such as Alameda, Green Mountain, Bear Creek, Applewood and Lakewood voted by more than a two-to-one margin to create a city, one of the largest incorporations of its time.

Green Mountain, a mesa 6,854 feet (2,089 m) tall, is located in the far west-central part of the city.

Casa Bonita (Spanish for "pretty house") is a former chain of Mexican-themed "eatertainment" restaurants which originated in Oklahoma City. The last restaurant in the former chain is located in Lakewood, Colorado. The South Park episode "Casa Bonita" prominently features the Colorado branch of the restaurant. Other episodes that mention it briefly are: "Quest for Ratings" (where a clock is labeled as showing the time at Casa Bonita), "You Have 0 Friends", "201" (where the restaurant is reportedly destroyed), and "Let Go, Let Gov". Additionally, the building that houses South Park Studios was named after the restaurant.

The Lakewood Brick and Tile Company, now called the Summit Brick Company at West 13th Avenue and Harlan Street, opened its doors in 1919 and still stands today.

Steve Williams, also known as "Dr. Death", was born and raised in Lakewood. He played football and wrestled for four years at Lakewood High School before going on to the win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, the UWF World Heavyweight Championship (twice), and the World Tag Team Championship (eight times).

Lakewood's economy is diverse. Denver Federal Center is the largest employer in the city with 8,000 employees, followed by Jefferson County Public Schools (4,010) and Terumo BCT (2,320). Other companies based in Lakewood include Einstein Bros. Bagels, FirstBank, and The Integer Group.