Mount McGhan is located on the Kenai Peninsula on land managed by Chugach National Forest.

Although modest in elevation, topographic relief is significant as the summit rises 3,275 feet (998 meters) above Crescent Lake in one mile (1.6 km), and 4,300 feet (1,311 meters) above Kenai Lake in two miles (3.2 km).

Precipitation runoff from the mountain drains into these two lakes which are part of the Kenai River drainage basin.

The mountain was named in 1988 after Bruce McGhan (1953–1986) at the request of his widow, Debra McGhan, with the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly supporting the proposal to honor her late husband who died in an industrial accident.

[5] Weather systems coming off the Gulf of Alaska are forced upwards by the Kenai Mountains (orographic lift), causing heavy precipitation in the form of rainfall and snowfall.