Fort Conger is located in Quttinirpaaq National Park on northeastern Ellesmere Island. The nearest community on Ellesmere Island (Grise Fiord) is located more than 800 km to the south, while Canadian Forces Station Alert is approximately 100 km to the northeast. Fort Conger is situated approximately 10 m from the ocean on the eastside of Discovery Harbour, with a steep bank (2.5 m high) leading from the site to the ocean. 
The standing structures, building foundations, and artifacts present at Fort Conger are legacies to the achievements of several remarkable expeditions, as well as the hardships suffered by their participants. The British Arctic Expedition of 1875-76 was the first of these, followed less than a decade later by the better-known Lady Franklin Bay Expedition (1881-84). Under the command of Lieutenant Adolphus Greely, this expedition was able to amass a considerable amount of scientific data, despite the harrowing escape and rescue of its few surviving members. In early 1899, American Polar Explorer Robert Peary arrived and used Fort Conger to stage a series of attempts to reach the North Pole.
