Hilda Lake sits in the Beaver River Basin in the northeast corner of Alberta, roughly 879 acres in area with approximately 8.46 miles of shoreline. The lake occupies a position within a chain of connected water bodies: it receives inflow from Moore Lake upstream and drains into Ethel Lake downstream, which eventually feeds the Beaver River on its course through Saskatchewan toward Hudson Bay. The surrounding terrain is rolling boreal mixedwood, with trembling aspen, white spruce, and jack pine on higher ground, and black spruce, tamarack, birch, and balsam poplar in lower areas, along with extensive muskeg.

Access to the lake is via Highway 897, which connects to a municipal road off the southeastern shore. Nearby service centers include Cold Lake, Bonnyville, Elk Point, and St. Paul.

The lake undergoes thermal stratification during warmer months, developing a warm surface layer (epilimnion) separated from a colder bottom layer (hypolimnion) by a thermocline. Fall cooling brings a full top-to-bottom turnover before ice forms for winter. Under ice, bottom water sits near 4°C while surface water approaches 0°C. The lake supports some sport fish populations.