Sunrise Lake residents are split between the towns of Benson and Orwell.  An adjustment of the town borders in 1869 created the situation where the cottages on the northern and northeastern sides of the lake fall in Orwell, while those at the southern and southeastern ends are part of Benson.

As early as the 1860s, the lake was known as Little Pond.  However, by the 1920s it had acquired the name of Sunrise Lake and the first camps and cottages began to appear there.  In 1923, the Boy Scouts opened Camp Sunrise on the western shore of the lake.  Camp Sunrise remained active for nearly 100 years as part of Vermont's Green Mountain Council.

Most of the camps and cottages that surround Sunrise Lake today are located on Sunrise Lake Road, a private way maintained by lake residents, some of whom have being coming to this lake for generations.