A self-guided car tour starting in the Crow Valley Recreation Area takes visitors through several distinct bird habitats scattered among old homesteads. There is a camping and picnic areas with accessible trails. Mountain bikes are not permitted on the Pawnee Buttes hiking trail, but are allowed elsewhere. The Pawnee Buttes area cliffs are closed to public access from March 1 to June 30 to protect nesting raptors. The Pawnee Pioneer Trails Scenic Byway passes through the grassland.
People ride horses in the grassland, but there are no developed trails.
The grassland was transferred to the U.S. Forest Service from the Soil Conservation Service in 1954. The Conservation Service acquired the prairie during the dust bowl days of the 1930s, and was charged with its rehabilitation. It was designated a National Grassland in 1960. The grassland is administered by the same office that manages the Arapaho and Roosevelt national forests. Outdoor Activities Pawnee Buttes rises up from the grassland that shares its name.