[4] The reserve includes the lower reaches and mouth of Wainuiomata River and the coastal encampment around Baring Head.

[2] In the 1990s, Energy Direct (formerly the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board) applied for resource consents to build a what would have been the first wind farm in New Zealand.

The purchase was made with financial contributions from the New Zealand Government's Nature Heritage Fund, the Department of Conservation, Hutt City Council and a private benefactor.

The purchase will protect a wide range of landscape, scientific, historical, ecological, cultural and recreational values.

[9] Since 2011, the Friends of Baring Head has worked alongside the regional and city councils, Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika, Birds New Zealand, and other groups in a range of activities, including pest control, rāhui, signage and fencing, and community education.

[11] The Baring Head Atmospheric Research Station was established on the headland in 1972, under the leadership of Dave Lowe.

[4][7] There is a marked walking and cycling route from the main entrance, passing the Old Pump Shed, the Baring Head Lighthouse, and the Para Trig and World War II Bunkers.

[16] Visitors are advised to carry warm and waterproof clothing, sufficient food and drink, wear strong lace-up footwear, inform others of their plans, and watch out for vehicles along parts of the track.