Of the forest, a 712-acre (288 ha)[2] tract is a National Natural Landmark and Iowa State Preserve.

The state forest is named after its dominant old-growth tree, the white pine.

White Pine Hollow, part of the Driftless Area, is a patch of north-facing algific talus slope land, a subset of dolomite karstland with many sinkholes, caverns, and other sharp changes in elevation.

[4] Two endangered species of animals, the Indiana bat and the Iowa Pleistocene snail, have been observed here.

One threatened species of plant, the northern wild monkshood, has also been observed growing here.