A popular whitewater venue, for many years the Canyon has been the object of controversy as environmental activists have contended with timber and development interests over its preservation status.

In 1772, the Dunkards, an Anabaptist religious sect, were the first Europeans to settle on Cheat River, lying within the canyon.

[2] The Canyon rim with its steep tributaries is composed of hard, white, grainy Pottsville sandstone.

A timber company planning to log sensitive parts of Cheat Canyon agreed to protect the habitat of two federally imperiled species, the threatened flat-spired three-toothed snail (Triodopsis platysayoides) and the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis).

In addition, according to the Association for Biodiversity Information, there are eight other globally uncommon plant and animal species in the canyon: Virginia bladetooth snail, delicate vertigo snail, eastern small-footed bat, green salamander, Allegheny woodrat, Barbara's buttons, an unnamed amphipod, and an unnamed isopod.