Frenchs Forest is 13 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Northern Beaches Council.

Governor Phillip made a number of journeys throughout the area, detailing the landscape, flora and fauna, as well as observing Aboriginal lifestyle and culture.

[8] A 1951 article in The Bulletin noted: Ten years ago the Forest and the Chase really gave Sydney a unique charm.

and you were in the midst of almost unsullied bush where you could still see wallabies, rabbits restored to respectability by their distance from grazing lands, and even, towards Whale Beach, koalas; where sun-orchid, greenhood and hyacinth-orchid flowered low in the scrub with blackeyed-Susan and the wild iris under starry tea-tree or the creamy foam of dwarf-apples; where boronia and wax-flower in their seasons glowed all along the roadsides, or native-holly fit a whole gully with rusty gold.

And year by year, while the rangers busied themselves harassing the picnickers who dared snatch a couple of flannel-flowers, the dumpers from the suburbs made the place one gigantic garbage-tip, where if you weren’t merely sick you would probably be bitten among the refuse by funnel-web spiders, redbacks, bulldog-ants and death-adders.

It is elevated (~156 m ASL) regularly having high rainfall compared with the rest of Sydney and is spread along ridgelines surrounded by native bushland.

The eastern parts have distant views (3 km) over the Pacific Ocean and the temperature extremes typical of Sydney are moderated by this proximity.

The western side has views over Chatswood, St Leonards, North Sydney & The city, bounded by Garigal National Park featuring native wildlife, birds, turtles, wallabies, lizards, snakes.

[14] CDC NSW connects Frenchs Forest with Chatswood railway station in the west, Westfield Warringah Mall shopping centre at Brookvale in the east and Terrey Hills in the north, with bus services running to Town Hall station in the Sydney central business district.