It corresponds to the area of the Chautauqua Institution, a historic district, adult education center, and summer resort on the southwest shore of Chautauqua Lake in far western New York.

[2] The CDP is bordered on the northeast by Chautauqua Lake and on the southwest by New York State Route 394, West Lake Road.

Mayville, the primary settlement in the town of Chautauqua, is 4 miles (6 km) to the northwest, at the north end of the lake.

Interstate 86 is 5.5 miles (8.9 km) to the southeast, at its crossing of the lake at Bemus Point.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Chautauqua CDP has a total area of 0.42 square miles (1.1 km2), all land.