The County Forests are available to the public. Roads and trails are open to motor vehicles on all forest tracts except Tottenham, Tosorontio and Schumacher and a few other tracts with gates to restrict access.
All tracts are accessible for walking and non-motorized vehicles.
All normal recreational activities are allowed provided they do not damage the forest. The County Forests were originally established to rehabilitate damaged land. With increased population and public need for forests, the role of the County forests has changed. Priority is given to lands that consolidate and enlarge existing tracts, that have good quality sites for regeneration and forest growth and that contribute to both natural heritage and other forest values.