During the Second World War, the Kaiserwald concentration camp was located in this park, and many Jews, Gypsies, Communists, and other opponents of Nazi rule were murdered in these woods.

Today it is still one of the wealthier areas of Riga, the Mežaparks Great Bandstand hosts the Latvian Song and Dance Festival in early July every five years.

The park is where the open-air Mežaparks Great Bandstand and Riga Zoo are located, as well as access to Ķīšezers lake.

The 424 ha (1,048 acres) territory is covered with coastal dunes, much of it with boreal forests, both protected conserved biotopes.

Although little of the Soviet architecture survives, the park has seen a resurgence after restoration of Latvia's independence and is currently a popular recreational location.