In her book Indian Legends of Minnesota, Mrs. Carl T. Thayer writes that "It is said that a Sioux maiden fell in love with a Chippewa brave.

She, the daughter of the Chief, on learning that her father planned war against the Chippewa, ran to her lover and warned him.

One day, as the brave approached the Island, anticipating a meeting with his beloved, he saw, to his horror, a great white bear attacking her.

It is said that even today, as night falls, the spirits of the bear and the brave wander the Island eternally in search of each other.

"[6] In Mark Twain's memoir Life on the Mississippi, he offers a different ending, relaying that "… the warrior, with one plunge of the blade of his knife, opened the crimson sluices of death, and the dying bear relaxed his hold.

"That night, there was no more sleep for the band or the lovers, and as the young and the old danced about the carcass of the dead monster, the gallant warrior was presented with another plume, and ere another moon had set he had a living treasure added to his heart.

Their children for many years played upon the skin of the white bear – from which the lake derives its name, and the maiden and the brave remembered long the fearful scene and rescue that made them one, for Kis-se-me-pa and Ka-go-ga could never forget their fearful encounter with the huge monster that came so near sending them to the happy hunting ground.

By 1874, Mark Twain had included White Bear Lake as the resort in his "Life on the Mississippi."

The "American Travelers Journal" 1881 proclaimed, "One of the most popular resorts in the magic northlands is White Bear Lake."

Barnum's hotel became the Leip House, featuring a ballroom, billiard room, dancing pavilion, bowling alley, and boats.

Shady Side, Bachelor's Rest and Hotel Benson were three of the resorts at Bald Eagle Lake.

The Cottage Park summer residents built a club house in 1881 where they had their meals, entertainment and social life.

In 1881, the Manitou Implement Co. developed the Island for cottages with the added important feature of water works.

The story was recounted in Barry Siegel's true crime novel A Death in White Bear Lake.

The White Bear Center for the Arts was officially organized on May 16, 1968 and moved to their new location at 4971 Long Avenue in the fall of 2013.

Smarte Carte, a company that provides baggage carts to many airports around the world, is headquartered in White Bear Lake, near Interstate 35E and Ramsey County Highway 96. International Paper, one of the largest pulp and paper companies in the world, operates a significant facility in northern White Bear Lake on 9th Street across from Podvin Park.

There is also a Marketfest festival that happens every Thursday night in Downtown White Bear consisting of many different food trucks and games for all ages.

If ice conditions are free of surface snow, iceboats can be found sailing at high speeds.