Since the mid-19th century, forestry has been the dominant economic activity of the Matawin River watershed, with tourism taking place as a secondary role.

Matawin ouest river flows prior to the South and cross many lakes up to the boundary of Mont-Tremblant National Park.

The name Matawin (sometimes referred as Mantawa or Mattawin ) is originally in Algonquin derived from the word "Matawane" which means "river falling fast".

The name "Matawin River" is in the book "A topographical dictionary of the Province of Lower Canada", designed by surveyor Joseph Bouchette, published in 1832.

Theophile Stanislas Provost, pastor of Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, cites "Mantawa River" in a letter to the journalist André Montpetit Napoleon in 1862.

In 1860, the Government of United Canada invested in the development of the river to allow entrepreneurs to exploit pine forests in the region that was already being called Matawinie.