It protects the western part of a semicircle of mountains in South East Queensland known as the Scenic Rim.

The Main Range Volcanics are thought to be remains of a widespread lava field that probably had multiple simultaneous eruptive centres.

[4] The Main Range shield volcano erupted between 25 and 22 million years ago in the Tertiary period.

[6] The park's forests and montane heath provide habitat for many animals, including the eastern bristlebird, Coxen's fig parrot, and the black-breasted buttonquail, all of which are threatened by extinction.

[7] Spicers Gap is believed to be a traditional pathway for Indigenous Australians travelling between the inland and the coast.

The Spicers Gap Road, used to carry supplies to and from the Darling Downs, is the best remaining example of sophisticated 19th-century engineering in Queensland.