The river itself is not part of the park, but is a popular paddling route titled the Whanganui Journey, one of New Zealand's "Great Walks".

From 1917 onwards, the New Zealand government offered retired serviceman returning from World War 1 discounted land, and loans for development, as part of the Soldier-Settler Scheme.

This decline was due in part to hardships of the land, including flooding and erosion, problems also experienced by Soldier-Settler Scheme recipients elsewhere.

[14] The marae was established in the early 1990s by members of Tamahaki who trace their ancestry back to the original community.

[13] Whanganui National Park protects a large area of lowland forest and important habitat for native wildlife.

There are numerous stands of podocarp-hardwood forest made up of species including Kāmahi and tawa, with rimu, mīro and tōtaraus on steeper terrain.

The park protects the habitat of several thousand threatened North Island brown kiwi and the endangered blue duck (whio).