[1] The park is located in the eastern part of the province of Isabela in Cagayan Valley (Region II) containing a total of 359,486 hectares (888,310 acres).

It is one of the country's ten priority protected areas managed by its own Protected Area Management Board headed by the Regional Executive Director of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources for Region II under the rules set forth in Article III of Republic Act 9125, also known as the Northern Sierra Madre Natural Park (NSMNP) Act of 2001.

Mount Cresta on Sierra Madre's western flank is the highest peak in the park with an elevation of 1,672 metres (5,486 ft).

one of the most important protected areas in the Philippines, owing to the myriad of rare and endangered species of flora and fauna that it supports.

The Luzon rain forests extend from sea level up to 1000 meters elevation, and are characterized by various species of tall, straight and slender trees of the family Dipterocarpaceae such as Shorea spp.

The Luzon montane rain forests include areas above 1000 meters elevation, and the predominant trees are oaks and laurels.