Situated on the eastern edge of the Massif Central, in the south-western part of the Rhône-Alpes Region and the Ardèche département – and accounting for virtually one-third of the latter’s surface area – the Park covers 180,000 hectares (445,000 acres).

The region is one of steep hills, where altitudes vary from 170 metres (558ft) at Les Vans to 1,754 metres (5,755ft) at the summit of Mont Mézenc, its highest point.

It has a population of 56,000 in 132 different municipalities which are evenly distributed throughout the six scenic entities, to which six gateway towns give access : Privas, Aubenas, Les Vans, Lamastre, Vernoux and Saint-Agrève.