It is administratively located in the municipality's Musquodoboit Valley & Dutch Settlement planning area and the western edge of the valley includes communities that are considered part of the commutershed for the urban area of the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The river is approximately 97 kilometres (60 mi) long and originates in the extreme northeastern area of the valley.

The word "Musquodoboit" is derived from the Mi’kmaq language and means "rolling out in foam".

Claude Pettpipas, Jr. and his Mi'kmaq wife, Marie Therese, moved from Port Royal and the Annapolis Valley and raised their family near Martinique Beach, at the mouth of the river.

The first land grants around Middle Musquodoboit were given in the 1780s, and the Mi'kmaw referred to the place as Natkamkik, meaning "the river extends uphill".

[1][11] The upper part of the Musquodoboit Valley comprises the largest farming district in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

[12] A fire station is present within the community, as well as a detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

[13][14] The Natural Resources Education Centre is located within the community as well, offering cuuriculum-based programs as well as three kilometres (1.9 mi) of hiking trails.

[1] Upper Musquodoboit has a convenience store, a volunteer fire station, an auto-body shop and a limestone mine.