As overseen by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the area is used for hiking, picnicking, and winter sports by the public,[3] while being actively managed to produce timber and other forest products.

Historians believe the Tunxis and Paugussett used the mountain peak for signal fires that warned neighboring communities further south that Mohawks were approaching from the northwest.

[9] Its eastern slope is the site of the Red Mountain Shelter, a log cabin built by CCC crews based in Housatonic State Forest.

Due to the shallow bedrock of the peak, the higher elevations of the mountain sport shrubby oak trees and distant vistas.

The area offers hiking, picnicking, fishing and youth group camping, opportunities for leaf color viewing in fall, and cross-country skiing in winter.