The forest occupies, on the western side, 3/4 of the Grunewald locality, a small portion of the southern part of Westend (both in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf borough); a great part of Nikolassee, the northern side of Zehlendorf and the northwestern part of Dahlem (all 3 in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf borough). It is close to the border of the neighborhood of Wannsee and its lake, and is near the Düppel forest. It is divided by the Havel river from the localities of Kladow, Gatow and Wilhelmstadt (all in the Spandau borough). It also borders the locality of Schmargendorf.