Scottish Borders Council has laid down their priority gritting routes in their winter service plan.
But they are relying on local communities to salt smaller roads and paths.
Council leader David Parker said community councils and other organisations were doing a "wonderful job".
He added: "They get material help from the council in terms of salt and equipment to go out and carry out works in their local area, sometimes prioritising routes that are important to them.
"I know that in a number of our communities the resilience teams on the ground are making a really big difference."
The council also has about 1,000 grit bins in place across the region.
"We don't have a grit bin on every single street corner, it's just not practical but we have a very comprehensive network," said Mr Parker.
"We have one of the largest networks of grit bins of any local authority our size in the country and certainly we do our best to fill these with salt, making sure these grit bins are available for the public for self help."
Under the winter service plan, primary routes will be gritted regularly, especially first thing in the morning and at night.
A secondary salting network covers remaining A and B roads, as well as school bus routes.
Community resilience teams are making a "big difference" in keeping minor roads and pavements in the Borders clear.