Declared a provincial park by the Ontario government in 1957, Kap-Kig-Iwan, was designated a natural environment park by Parks Ontario in 1978 under the guidelines of the Park's Management Plan.
Natural Environment parks are intended to incorporate recreational landscapes with representative natural features and historical resources to provide high quality experiences both recreational and educational.
Evidence of more than two billion years of the planet's history can be seen in the walls and floors of the Englehart River Valley. The lowest layers are among the oldest rocks in the world, while higher strata contain fossils of some early forms of life, and those toward the top record the effects of the last Ice Age.
The river has several series of white-water rapids, rugged rock outcrops, deep ravines and a great diversity of vegetation and wildlife.
