[3] The landscape consists of steep hills,[3] reaching to a summit of 224 metres with sweeping views of the Bay of Plenty coastline from the Coromandel Peninsula to East Cape.

[5][6] Its traditional Māori name is Te Rae o Pāpāmoa, translating roughly as "the forehead of the woman who is the hills".

[7] The park is an operational farm several gates, located behind a Fulton Hogan quarry with regular truck traffic.

[7][2][3][1] The pine trees at the summit of Pāpāmoa Hills, planted by Colin Peter Campbell McNaughton in the early 1900s, are over 120 years old.

Another pine tree, located beside the Pāpāmoa Pā, was removed due to falling branches, posing a hazard to the area in 2016.