Canoelands is a small hamlet near Glenorie, consisting of some 80 houses and 247 people extending out towards the east from Old Northern Road.

The landform of the area is on Canoelands Ridge, a high, undulating, dissected plateau of Hawkesbury Sandstone with many steep gullies covered with dry sclerophyll forest, predominantly tall varieties of hardwood trees of the genus Eucalyptus.

This makes it one of the highest natural points between the northern side of Sydney Harbour and the Hawkesbury River.

The treefellers found tall stringybark gumtrees (E. cephalocarpa) with large, uniform patches of bark missing.

These pieces of bark were cut out with stone axes and used by the local Aboriginal people to make canoes to use on the Hawkesbury River.

As the trees were used for mill logs, none remain in the area but preserved specimens may be examined at other places, e.g., in the Pioneers Park at Griffith, New South Wales.

Old Northern Road was convict-built and is a major connecting route stretching north for 34 km from Baulkham Hills to Wisemans Ferry.

Apiarists bring their beehives when the orchards are in flower for their bees to gather honey and assist in the pollination and setting of fruit.

The Hawkesbury sandstone is a basically cream-colored sedimentary rock with colorful patterns of red, orange, yellow and white.

Many homes have stand-by diesel-powered generators to safeguard the operation of their water supply pumps and refrigeration in case of power blackouts.