Cumberland Island (Saskatchewan)
Cumberland Island (also called Pine Island) is a small island in the Saskatchewan River Delta in east-central Saskatchewan, Canada. The delta is one of North America’s largest inland deltas. The island sits between Cumberland Lake to the north and the Saskatchewan River to the south. The Tearing River borders the east side and the Bigstone River borders the west side, with the Bigstone River separating Cumberland Island from Spruce Island.
The area is in the Mid-Boreal Lowland and has mixed forests with species like white and black spruce, jack pine, tamarack, trembling aspen, balsam poplar, and balsam fir.
Cumberland Island was important to the fur trade as part of a canoe route to Hudson Bay. In 1774, the Hudson’s Bay Company opened its first inland factory on the island.
Administratively, it is in the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District and includes the communities of Cumberland House (Saskatchewan’s oldest continually inhabited town) and Pemmican Portage. Nearby are Cumberland House Provincial Park (the site of the former HBC fort) and the Cumberland House Indian reserve. About 1,500 residents are Métis and Swampy Cree.
Access is via Highway 123, which reaches the island from the south across the Cumberland House Bridge (built in 1995). The Cumberland House Airport is just west of the town.
Bigstone Cutoff Recreation Site sits at the island’s western edge, where the Bigstone River meets the Bigstone Cutoff arm of the Saskatchewan River. The park has a small free campground and spots for boating and fishing.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 18:24 (CET).