At a place near present-day Lemmon, South Dakota, the legendary Hugh Glass was attacked by a Grizzly Bear protecting her two cubs. Glass fought for his life using only a knife and his bare hands. By the time the bear was killed, Glass was terribly mauled and mangled. Fearing for their own safety, traveling partners Jim Bridger and John Fitzgerald collected Glass’s gun, knife, and other accouterments, and left him for dead near the banks of the Grand River. However, against all odds, Glass did not die. His 200-mile trek back to civilization was recounted far and wide among other frontiersmen, and even Native American tribes told tales about his brave journey.
Today, you can step back nearly two centuries and walk on the site where history was made, where one man became a legend. Enjoy the amazing vistas this area has to offer as you stroll the banks of the Grand River and Shadehill Reservoir at Hugh Glass Park, 12 miles south of Lemmon. Then, include in your expedition the Grand River Museum in Lemmon, where you can encounter local artist John Lopez’s Hybrid Metal Art© sculpture of this historic grizzly attack.