Most of the site, apart from the picnic and play areas adjacent to the main swimming hole, is covered by dense tropical rainforest.

[2][3][4] This high coastal mountain range, the tropical location and the moist south-easterly trade winds are responsible for making the coastal strip between Tully and Cape Tribulation the wettest area in all of Australia,[5][6][7] and as a result a constant supply of cool mountain water flows through all the creeks of the reserve.

[1][2] The site is well suited for families, boasting spacious and calm swimming holes with clear cool water year round, a picnic area with tables and free gas barbeques, toilets and showers, swings, grassed areas, viewing platforms, and walking tracks.

[1][2] There are three walking tracks within the Boulders Reserve: In the language of the local indigenous Yidinji people the area is called Bunna Binda meaning "waterfall" or "water over your shoulder".

Approximately 700 m (770 yd) downstream from the main swimming hole, the river valley narrows considerably and the creek channel is filled with massive boulders and lined with bedrock, polished smooth by the water flow over millennia.