The island was named after a local landowner Captain Archibald Petrie, an early inhabitant of Cumberland Township.

The island is now owned by the City of Ottawa[1] and incorporates the Grandmaitre Ecological Reserve, the Bill Holland Trail, the Al Tweddle Picnic Area, the Friends of Petrie Island Interpretive Centre, Harvie's Point, and Stuemer Park.

One of the last relatively natural environments on the Ontario side of the Ottawa River below the nation’s capital, the archipelago features a Carolinian deciduous swamp forest, possibly the only one in Eastern Canada north of Toronto.

Seasonal flooding, extensive sand deposits, abundant water plants and thin but fertile soils have helped maintain a variety of life not found in many other places and its habitats are extremely rich.

There is a network of trails through a nature preserve, and a small interpretive center, both maintained by volunteers.