Milnthorpe is a large village within the South Lakeland district of Cumbria but is generally more associated with northern Lancashire.. Historically part of Westmorland and straddling the A6 road, the town contains several old hostelries and hosts a market in The Square every Friday. The parish of Milnthorpe had a population of 2,106 recorded in the 2001 census.

Milnthorpe is the site of the 19th-century Church of St Thomas, which overlooks The Green and The Square. Prior to its construction Milnthorpe was in the parish of Heversham.

Milnthorpe became a centre of business and activity because it was originally a port, using the River Bela and estuary (now only navigable to Arnside), and it remains a significant commercial centre for the area.

Tourism and hospitality have always thrived, Milnthorpe being a convenient stop-off point on the A6 for coaches and cars en route to the Lake District. Just to the north is Levens Hall, famed for its topiary. The village used to be a major traffic bottleneck before the opening of the M6 motorway in 1970, and the A590/A591 Kendal link road a few years later. The nearby Dallam Deer park, part of the wider Dallam Tower Estate, is now a popular spot for walkers, particularly those en route to the Arnside and Silverdale AONB.

Big Fish Internet was Britain's first Website Design Company formed in early 1996. Started in Milnthorpe and now moved to larger offices a few miles away in Sandside. Duralon Combs is the oldest Comb manufacturer in the UK has been in Milnthorpe for over 300 years.

The popular children's drink Um Bongo was made in Milnthorpe by Libby's in the 1980s.

Each August, the Friends of the Exhibition holds its annual art exhibition in the church. Milnthorpe has two steel bands, one for adults and the other based in the town's junior school.

The grade I listed house Dallam Tower, with an estate known for its deer, stands near to the River Bela just south-west of Milnthorpe, whilst St Anthony's Tower may be seen on the top of St Anthony's Hill to the north-east of the town centre, overlooking the village and the housing estate of Owlet Ash Fields in nearby Ackenthwaite.

It has one secondary school, called Dallam School, and one primary school, called Milnthorpe Primary School.

There are three public houses in the village.