From the 1950s until 2018 it had a resident population, serving the Snowy Hydro scheme, including facilities such as pubs, general store and a primary school.

Long, steep roofs allow snow to slide off, and the interiors are designed around a central heater (originally fuelled by oil) which warms all rooms in the house either directly or indirectly (chimney passes between upstairs bedrooms).

The town has 45 houses, 100+ units, a general store and petrol station, primary school, wet canteen (pub) (tavern), indoor swimming pool, single 'Poma' tow downhill ski slope, and tennis courts.

The town's water supply is close to this airstrip and is known as "Dry Dam", on the dirt road that goes to Kiandra via "Kings Cross" and the Selwyn Snowfields day-only ski resort.

The town is located within the boundaries of Kosciuszko National Park, on the road between Kiandra on the Snowy Mountains Highway to the north and Khancoban, another hydro-electric power site, to the south.

The permanent workforce of the settlement is currently being replaced with drive-in/drive-out staff, however the school will remain open to service surrounding areas.

Owing to the town's exposed position, perched over the western escarpment of the ranges, temperature inversion alone is insufficient for low minima as the coldest air drains into the valleys and plains; this gives Cabramurra much milder minimum temperatures than the surrounding plateau, such as at nearby Kiandra.

This is evident by the greatly reduced winter rainfall in particular, as much of that would have fallen as snow and gone unregistered by the AWS gauge.