Lincoln is the second-highest point on Sawtooth Ridge, and the nearest higher neighbor is Mount Cruiser, 1.1 mi (1.8 km) to the northeast.

Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 5,100 feet (1,600 m) above the Staircase Ranger Station at Lake Cushman in approximately two miles.

As fronts approach, they are forced upward by the peaks (orographic lift), causing them to drop their moisture in the form of rain or snow.

[7] In 1862 during the Civil War, President Lincoln by executive order designated the nearby townsite of Port Angeles for a military and naval reserve.

Inspired by the view, botanist Louis Henderson described the view:[8]"A more magnificent scene had never presented itself to my eyes, and I doubt whether anything in the higher Alps or the grand ice-mountains of Alaska could outrival that view... Canyon mingled with canyon, peak rose above peak, ridge succeeded ridge, until they culminated in old Olympus far to the northwest; snow, west, north and south; the fast descending sun bringing out the gorgeous colors of pale-blue, lavender, purple, ash, pink and gold.