A minor public road reaches as far as the end of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin, but beyond that point only rough tracks and footpaths continue along the glen.

[8] The pinewood consists predominantly of Scots pine, but also includes broadleaved species such as birch, rowan, aspen, willows and alder.

[16] After nearly seventy years of management to encourage restoration of the area, biodiversity has improved and Glen Affric now supports birds such as black grouse, capercaillie, crested tit and Scottish crossbill, as well as raptor species such as ospreys and golden eagles.

The bogs and lochs of the glen provide a habitat for many species of dragonfly, including the rare brilliant emerald.

[23] Dudley Marjoribanks, later Lord Tweedmouth was a rich Liberal MP who took a long lease on shooting rights over much of Glen Affric in 1846 and, by 1856, had acquired ownership of the Glen Affric Estate from "Laird Fraser" whose family had built the original Guisachan Georgian manor house around 1755.

[27][28] By the 1860s, Lord Tweedmouth, as the new laird, had much enlarged the house,[29] using Scottish architect Alexander Reid, who designed many buildings on Tweedmouth's vast Glen Affric Estate, including an entire village—Tomich—and the Glen Affric Hunting Lodge,[30] described in appearance as "castle-like".

[31] Tweedmouth had enjoyed shooting rights over much of Glen Affric since 1846, and, following his acquisition of the estate he initiated the first breed of golden retrievers at kennels near Guisachan House.

His wife, the Baroness Tweedmouth, was born Lady Fanny Spencer-Churchill, the daughter of the 7th Duke of Marlborough, and died at Glen Affric Lodge in 1904.

[36] The Duke and Duchess of York are reported in The Graphic, 25 September 1897 to have visited the Guisachan Estate in Strathglass, including Glen Affric Lodge.

Lady Tweedmouth's nephew Winston Churchill also came to visit the estate in 1901, and amused himself learning how to drive a car in the grounds.

It was he who resold the Glen Affric deer forest to the west and a large area of grazing land to the Forestry Commission.

[33][44][45][46] Provost Robert Wotherspoon was recorded as owning Glen Affric Estate in 1951, having purchased it in 1944 and selling the "majority of its ground to the Forestry Commission" in 1948.

[56][57] The National Trust for Scotland has owned the 37 km2 (14 sq mi)[58] West Affric Estate,[59] which covers the upper part of the glen,[57] since 1993.

[64] The final portion of the Guisachan Estate, which is in the ownership of Nigel Fraser, consists of 7 km2 (2.7 sq mi) at the very east of the glen.

[66] The hostel is only open in the summer, and can only be reached by foot or by mountain bike via routes of between 10 and 13 km (6.2 and 8.1 mi) starting from lower down Glen Affric or from the A87 at Loch Cluanie or Morvich.

[66] Corbetts accessible from Glen Affric include Sgùrr Gaorsaic, Càrn a' Choire Ghairbh and Aonach Shasuinn.

[70][71] Shorter waymarked trails are provided in the lower parts of the glen, taking walkers to viewpoints and attractions such as the waterfalls at Plodda and the Dog Falls.

In September 2016 Roseanna Cunningham, the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform, told the Scottish Parliament that the Scottish Government had no plans to designate new national parks in Scotland and instead planned to focus on the two existing national parks.