The Network's three main objectives are to:

Ensure that recreational use of the Northern Ireland countryside is managed in a way, which provides a high quality and consistent experience for all recreational users. Ensure the new and developing facilities for countryside recreation within Northern Ireland are resourced, supported and managed in a strategic way. Raise the public's awareness of countryside recreation opportunities within Northern Ireland and encourage participation in countryside recreation by well-informed users. Fundamental to the operation of the Network is the need for all parties to work together in partnership, a partnership based on three underlying values:

1. Mutual respect amongst all interested parties
...users, providers, managers and landowners - moving to a position where everyone who uses the countryside is aware of their responsibilities to others and to the protection of the resource itself.

2. Sustainable Access
...accommodating the needs of sport and recreation without conflicting with the needs of others, detracting from the quality of the resource or giving rise to significant or long-term damage.

3. Maintaining a quality Experience
...establishing benchmarks which managers aspire to provide and users can reasonably expect to experience.

The Network uses these underlying values to form policies, agree activities and guide its role as the national body for the strategic development, management and promotion of countryside recreation in Northern Ireland.