The route 405, connecting the Gouin Dam to the village of Wemotaci, Quebec by the west bank of the Saint-Maurice River, serves the Jean-Pierre River Valley and also the peninsula that stretches north on 30.1 kilometres (18.7 mi) in the Gouin Reservoir.

Some secondary forest roads are in use nearby for forestry and recreational tourism activities.

The surface of the Jean-Pierre River is usually frozen from mid-November to the end of April, however, safe ice circulation is generally from early December to late March.

The Jean-Pierre River originates at the mouth of Machinila Lake (length: 0.5 kilometres (0.31 mi); altitude: 500 metres (1,600 ft)).

The toponym "Rivière Jean-Pierre" was officialized on December 5, 1968, at the Commission de toponymie du Québec.