Although logging still continues on a smaller scale, the reserve was created in 1971 to provide outdoor recreation opportunities while favouring wildlife conservation.

In harmony with its mandate to ensure the sustainability of resources and to foster the rational use of its territory, the reserve pursues wildlife and fish development activities by setting up spawning grounds, tree groves, interpretation trails, and nesting boxes.

[1] It is named after two historical figures of Quebec: Louis-Joseph Papineau (1786–1871), famous orator and leader of the Patriots of 1837, and Antoine Labelle (1833–1891), pastor of St. Jerome and ardent proponent of the colonization of the Upper Laurentians.

[2] The Montreal Gazette of November 18, 2008, called the Papineau-Labelle Reserve "magnificent" and included it in the 10 hot spots of Quebec's wilderness that "you should experience before you die".

[1] The reserve has activities for year-round use, including fishing, hunting, canoe camping, hiking, wild berry picking, wildlife and bird viewing, cross-country skiing, dogsledding, and snowmobiling.