The Global Positioning System (GPS) has become a core tool for forest inventory, mapping, and navigation, yet its performance under dense canopy and rugged terrain remains a practical concern for forest managers. In this study, we evaluated GPS performance in three operational applications—sample plot location, aerial navigation, and forest road delineation—in the Sunderbani Forest Range of the Nowshera Forest Division, Jammu and Kashmir, between 15 May 2021 and 31 March 2024. A total of 50 forest compartments and 200 GPS points were surveyed using different GPS receivers and field methods, and positional error, fix success, and accuracy class distributions were analyzed using standard forestry statistical procedures. Results indicate that GPS is highly effective for aerial navigation and forest road delineation but less reliable for direct plot-center positioning under dense canopy unless offset methods from open reference points are employed, consistent with previous forestry GPS studies showing canopy and terrain effects on horizontal accuracy (Forest Survey of India, 2017; Girish Chandra & Raman Nautiyal, n.d.; Jha et al., 2016; Miyata et al., 2010). These findings support a mixed-method approach in which GPS is integrated with conventional surveying and GIS-based postprocessing for operational forest management in Jammu and Kashmir.