The forest is located on the border with the Flemish Region and is connected to an open space in the north, although the Brussels Ring forms a barrier there.

To the south and south-east, Laerbeek Wood borders other green areas: the Poelbos, King Baudouin Park and the Jette-Ganshoren Marshes.

Laerbeek Wood has an exceptional biodiversity[1] and is part of the Natura 2000 Special Protection Area in the Brussels-Capital Region.

[2] Dielegem Abbey, founded in the 11th century, started a limestone quarry on the site of the present forest.

The stones from the quarry were used for the construction of the abbey itself, as well as for the Church of Our Lady in Mechelen and part of the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels.

One of the owners, Eugène Van den Elschen, an Ixelles lawyer, built a Normandy-style pavilion on the southern edge of the forest in 1908.

Similar to the Sonian Forest, Laerbeek Wood has a plantation of beech trees (Fagus sylvatica), all the same age.

On the calcareous soil, in addition to wild garlic and anemones, one can find may bells, primroses and moneywort.

This widening ended abruptly before the highway passed Laerbeek Wood, creating a bottleneck for traffic.

[7][8][9][10] However, the social cost-benefit analysis[11] (SCBA) commissioned by the Flemish Government in 2013 also examined a variant in which Laerbeek Wood would be spared by creating a bypass on the north side of the current ring road.

In March 2016, the Flemish Government decided to go for the basic project with a bypass near Laerbeek Wood.