[3] The island is in the Mid-Boreal Lowland region, which consists of mixed coniferous and deciduous forests of white and black spruce, jack pine, tamarack, trembling aspen, balsam poplar, and balsam fir.

In 1774, the Hudson's Bay Company had set up its first inland factory on the island.

Cumberland Island is in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District and is home to the villages of Cumberland House (Saskatchewan's oldest continuously inhabited community)[5] and Pemmican Portage.

[6] Adjacent to the communities are Cumberland House Provincial Park, which is the site of the former Hudson's Bay Company fort,[7] and Cumberland House Indian reserve.

[11] The park has a small, free campground and access to the river for boating and fishing.