Towns and villages in Wharfedale (downstream, from west to east) include Buckden,[a] Kettlewell, Conistone, Grassington, Hebden, Bolton Abbey, Addingham, Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale, Otley, Pool-in-Wharfedale, Arthington, Collingham and Wetherby.

The first 15 miles (24 km) or so is known as Langstrothdale, including the settlements of Beckermonds, Yockenthwaite and Hubberholme, famous for its church, the resting place of the writer J.

As it turns southwards, the Wharfe then runs through a green and lush valley, with limestone outcrops, such as Kilnsey Crag, and woodland, generally quite unusual in the Dales.

The northern side of Lower Wharfedale, opposite Ilkley, Burley-in-Wharfedale and Otley, is in the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust has a remit to conserve the ecological condition of Wharfedale, Wensleydale, Swaledale and Nidderdale catchments from their headwaters to the Humber Estuary.

[5] Evidence of human settlement has been found dating back to Neolithic times and the valley has plenty of artefacts relating to the Celtic, Roman and Anglo-Saxon periods.

[18] As an electoral subdivision Wharfedale is a ward in the north east of the City of Bradford metropolitan borough.