Its cone-shaped summit, which is the remains of a volcanic plug, rises above an escarpment of Carboniferous sandstone and limestone layers, capped with a quartz-microgabbro sill.

West Lomond is usually climbed from Craigmead car park on the Falkland-Leslie road which is at a height of almost 300 metres.

Another route of ascent leaves from the Bunnet Stane and climbs diagonally up the steep north slopes of the escarpment to a gap in the cliffs, gaining the plateau a short distance from the summit cone.

This route is steeper and begins at a much lower altitude than the Craigmead car park.

Until 1891 West Lomond was the meridian of the 6 inch and 1:2500 Ordnance Survey maps of Kinross and Fife.