Although the hills seem relatively low, in a larger geographic context the plateau does rise gradually from many kilometres away so that the total elevation gain from Medicine Hat is approximately 600 metres (2,000 ft).

The vegetation of park is undergoing changes through woody plant encroachment, with a detected 1% increase of shrub cover annually.

On the Alberta side of West Block, key park features include Head of the Mountain Viewpoint, the highest point between the Rocky Mountains and Labrador, the Elkwater townsite (a cottage community sitting at the same elevation as the Banff townsite), Horseshoe Canyon and Reesor Lake viewpoints (offering 100-kilometre (62 mi) views on a clear day), over 50 kilometres (31 mi) of hiking and mountain biking trails, and Hidden Valley Ski Resort.

The park protects the majority of the Cypress Hills landscape, which consists of three separate elevated blocks of lush forest and fescue grassland surrounded by dry mixed-grass prairie.

The "East Block" of the Cypress Hills, situated near Eastend, Saskatchewan, is not a park or protected area.

Other mammals found in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park include:[22] Eulipotyphla Lagomorpha Chiroptera Carnivora Rodentia Fish species include walleye, yellow perch, northern pike, brook, brown, westslope cutthroat and rainbow trout, burbot, common carp, white sucker, and shorthead redhorse.