Get To Know Hugh Glass, South Dakota’s “Revenant”
An epic tale of survival and revenge, the early 2016 film “The Revenant” tells the story of frontiersman Hugh Glass (played by Leonardo DiCaprio). Glass was a trapper in South Dakota, where he was mauled by a grizzly bear and left for dead by his companions. Fueled by revenge and the will to survive, he crawled for six weeks to the nearest settlement, Fort Kiowa, near present-day Chamberlain.
Today, you can follow the route Glass took through the South Dakota wilderness and be amazed just how he lived to tell the tale.
Start your journey in the northern South Dakota town of Lemmon. You can almost hear the roar while looking at renowned artist John Lopez’s sculpture in the Grand River Museum. Lopez used scrap metal to recreate the battle between Hugh Glass and a grizzly bear. Want to know more? Just head to Lopez’s studio in downtown Lemmon. Not only can you see more of Lopez’s work, you’re also likely to catch the sculptor himself at work.
For other famous South Dakota Films such as “Into the Wild,” “National Treasure: Book of Secrets,” “Dances With Wolves,” “Armageddon” and “Hidalgo,” visit https://www.travelsouthdakota.com/shows-films-shot-south-dakota.

You can follow the South Dakota route taken by trapper Hugh Glass, the inspiration for the 2016 film “The Revanant,” who was mauled by a grizzly bear and left for dead. Photo courtesy of Travel South Dakota
For more information on South Dakota, visit TravelSouthDakota.com.