The Scharfenstein lies southwest of Ilsenburg, southeast of the Lower Saxony town of Bad Harzburg, north of the Kleiner Brocken mountain and east of the Ecker Reservoir, which lies on the Ecker River, straddling the border between the states of Saxony-Anhalt and Lower Saxony.

The mountain is topped by a tor, the Scharfensteinklippe; which has particularly good views of the Brocken, and in the direction of Torfhaus and the Ecker Reservoir.

The Scharfenstein's appearance as a solid, rocky crag is particularly evident when viewed from the south, for example, from the Ecker Reservoir.

Following the foundation of East Germany in 1949 and the creation of a state forest authority, organised forestry was once again carried out on the Scharfenstein.

Immediately next to the ranger station, a narrow signposted path leads to the summit, the walk taking about 15 minutes.