Sleeping
Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
The Legend
of the
Sleeping Bear
Long ago, along
the Wisconsin shoreline, a mother bear and her two cubs were driven
into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The bears swam for
many hours, but eventually the cubs tired and lagged behind. Mother
bear reached the shore and climbed to the top of a high bluff
to watch and wait for her cubs. Too tired to continue, the cubs
drowned within sight of the shore. The Great Spirit Manitou created
two islands to mark the spot where the cubs disappeared and then
created a solitary dune to represent the faithful mother bear.

SLBE Home Page
National
Parks
ParkNet
Last Updated: 6/23/2006
Http://www.nps.gov/slbe/legend.htm