Ku-ring-gai Chase is a popular tourist destination, known for its scenic setting on the Hawkesbury River and Pittwater, significant plant and animal communities, Aboriginal sites and European historic places.

Higher areas of the park are underlain with pink, white and orange layers of Hawkesbury Sandstone that contain small beds of shale.

Eroded remnants of volcanic dykes occur including at Resolution Picnic Area at West Head and Campbells Crater near Cowan, which provide for forests of Sydney blue gum (Eucalyptus saligna).

A band of dolerite runs across the West Head peninsula near White Horse Beach, providing fertile soils for a distinct group of plants.

These "flooded" or "drowned" valleys, knowns as rias, were eroded into the sandstone much deeper than the current sea level during the glacial phases of the Pleistocene ice age.

When the ice caps melted about 10,000 years ago, the sea levels rose and flooded the valleys of the park, and separated Lion and Scotland islands from the mainland.

[12] These include rock engravings, cave drawings, occupation sites, paintings and stencils, axe grinding grooves and middens providing significant evidence of the way of life of the Guringai people.

In 1788, the first year of English settlement of the Sydney area, Governor Phillip and a small party explored Borken Bay and the Hawkesbury River, but seeking agricultural land, they showed little interest in the steep and stony landscapes.

The Pacific Highway and Main Northern railway line built along the ridgetop forming the park's current western border provided access to Cowan Creek along which pioneers settled.

[9] Bobbin Head Inn, picnic shelters, and boat shed concessions were established to raise much needed funds for park management.

A 1927 prospectus proposed a community of 2,500 residences with a country club, casino, golf course, and hotel, however, the plans did not eventuate due to the Great Depression.

[3] A seaplane on its way to Sydney Harbour crashed into Jerusalem Bay shortly after takeoff from on 31 December 2017, killing the pilot and five passengers.

Many kilometres of the park front the shores of Broken Bay, Pittwater and Cowan Creek, making it a good place to explore by boat.