The highest peak of the range is Caliente Mountain at 5,106 feet (1,556 m) in elevation, located in southeastern San Luis Obispo County.

The range is an anticlinal structure with a sharp southern boundary defined by the Morales Thrust Fault, along which runs the Cuyama River.

The Cuyama Valley separates the Caliente Range from the Sierra Madre Mountains in neighboring Santa Barbara County to the south.

This cabin was a lookout point during the Second World War, as an observer on this prominent peak would have been able to see and report Japanese airplanes coming inland to bomb the important oil fields in Kern County.

Dips and rises along the ridgeline road leading to the lookout point equal about 2,700 feet (820 m) in elevation gain in the course of the 17-mile (27 km) round-trip journey from the locked gate to the peak and back.