The picturesque coastline and five islands of Lake Pühajärv make it the biggest lake in the region. There is a beach with a beach house, ball game courts, a children's playground, rest areas, cafés, and a pier by the northern tip of Lake Pühajärv. In the southern tip, there is the Kooliranna recreation area, where River Väike Emajõgi starts. Pühajärve Park is where the Murrumetsa hiking trail begins and there is also a 12 km hiking trail around Lake Pühajärv.

There are many springs in the lake and the Spring of Love is the most famous of these. Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso blessed the lake in 1991 and this event was commemorated with a wooden sculpture on the lake’s shore by the park.