Bilgola comes under the government control of Pittwater Council. Bilgola plateau stands at the western part of the suburb. It is 33 kilometres northeast to the central business district of Sydney. Situated on the Pacific Ocean side of the Barrenjoey Peninsula between Newport to the south and Avalon to the north, Bilgola is part of the northern beaches region.
The name is derived from an aboriginal word Belgoula signifying swimming waters or a pretty beach with steep slopes, studded with cabbage palms. The district was named as Belgoola in 1822 to which the people re-named and adopted it as Bilgola.