The trolls of Detroit Lakes are five giant wooden sculptures by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, hidden across Detroit Lakes and nearby Frazee, Minnesota, along with a sixth “villain,” the Golden Rabbit, hidden somewhere in between. You follow riddles from troll to troll, decoding symbols as you go, on a real-life scavenger hunt that can eat up an entire day and around five miles of walking.
If you’ve never chased down a Dambo troll before, here’s the short version of how this works: you show up, you get a map or a storybook, and then you drive and hike your way around a small Minnesota lake town looking for wooden giants tall enough to peek over the treetops. It sounds a little silly written out like that. It is a little silly. It’s also become one of the more talked-about small-town attractions in the Midwest, and there’s a real story behind why it worked so well.
Who Is Thomas Dambo, and Why Is He Building Trolls in Minnesota?
Thomas Dambo is the Danish “recycling artist” known for building oversized troll sculptures out of scrap wood, pallets, and old fences all over the world. The Thomas Dambo Trolls made their Detroit Lakes debut in the summer of 2024, relying on recyclable wood and other reusable materials, part of a body of work that has popped up in parks across 20 countries and five continents. The Detroit Lakes installation pushed his global troll count to a striking number — the Minnesota trolls brought the number of Dambo’s recycled trolls to 138.
What made Detroit Lakes different is the sheer scale of the local effort. Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo teamed up with Project 412 and the help of more than 300 volunteers to create five larger-than-life trolls, plus one greedy Golden Rabbit, to tell the story of Alexa’s Elixir. Dambo arrived in Detroit Lakes in May of 2024 and built six troll sculptures at locations from Dunton Locks to Detroit Mountain, along with a handful of other art installations. Project 412 is the local nonprofit that made it happen — a community-led group that produced the record-setting initiative and has previously supported local art projects like a poetry walk and winter kite launch, sponsoring the trolls with a mission to bring people together and draw new visitors to the area.
What’s the Story Behind the Detroit Lakes Trolls?
This isn’t just a row of statues — it’s a fairy tale you walk through. The mission is to help the troll Alexa brew an elixir to break a curse the evil Golden Rabbit cast upon humans, and along the way you’ll meet trolls with unique personalities and challenges designed for adventurers of all ages. Each troll wears a clue you need to keep moving. Each of the five trolls hiding in the woods of Detroit Lakes and Frazee — Alexa, Barefoot Frida, Ronny Funny Face, Long Leif and Jacob Everear — wears a necklace that contains a symbol. Collect them all and, using the Golden Rabbit Map and decoding key found in the wooden book beneath the Alexa Elixir troll, you can track down the elusive rabbit itself.
Where to Find Each Troll
Alexa’s Elixir — Detroit Lakes City Park
This is where you begin. Alexa’s story starts in Detroit Lakes’ City Park, where she brandishes a large wooden spoon and a magic portal used for gathering ingredients for her elixir meant to free people from the Golden Rabbit’s greed, and her storybook decodes the symbols found on each troll.
Barefoot Frida — Ortenstone Gardens
Barefoot Frida sits beneath a shady tree overlooking a pond at Ortenstone Gardens. Locals seem genuinely fond of her spot — located at the new Ortenstone Gardens and Sculpture Park in Detroit Lakes, she’s been a popular stop for Dambo troll hunters this past year. Plan on a modest walk to reach her: Barefoot Frida is located about a third of a mile from the parking area, and the walk has mild inclines. If you’re picky about timing, visiting in late summer lets you catch the Zinnia Flower Bed in full bloom, featuring 7,000 zinnias.
Ronny Funny Face — Dunton Locks County Park
This one is the easiest stop on the hunt. If you’re short on time or need a fully paved path, Dunton Locks County Park is where you follow the birdhouses to get a giggle from Ronny Funny Face.
Long Leif — Detroit Mountain Recreation Area
Long Leif is the showstopper. Long Leif earned his name due to his impressive height — he stands 36 feet tall, Thomas Dambo’s tallest troll — and he’s a friend of the trees, tall enough now to hang out among them as an equal. You’ll find him at Detroit Mountain Recreational Center, roughly 29409 170th St. in Detroit Lakes.
Jacob Everear — Wannigan Regional Park, Frazee
The lone troll outside town lives about twenty minutes east. To see Jacob Everear, you’ll drive about twenty minutes east of Detroit Lakes to Frazee, where he sits in Wannigan Regional Park at the end of about a third-mile hike over mostly flat trail. He’s also the one sculpture you’re actually allowed to touch — Jacob Everear is the only troll you’re encouraged to climb, so long as you avoid his head and feet. His name isn’t random, either: Jacob Everear’s name is a whimsical blend of “Jacob” and “evergreen,” part of his connection to evergreen trees.
Don’t Forget the Portals
Beyond the five trolls, there’s a bonus layer to the hunt. The project includes six sites in the Detroit Lakes and Frazee area plus three “portals” cleverly hidden in Fargo, North Dakota, Detroit Lakes, and Perham, Minnesota. They’re small mirror installations tied into the same story, and finding all three adds a genuine road-trip element if you’re coming from out of state.
How Big of a Hit Has This Been?
Bigger than anyone in a town of a few thousand people probably expected. By the end of the first summer, Jacob Everear in the Frazee area had drawn 12,600 visitors, Barefoot Frida in the Detroit Lakes area had 23,200, Long Leif had 11,600, and the Golden Rabbit itself had pulled in 7,100 seekers. The ripple effect on the local economy has been real, too — business owners reported increased foot traffic throughout town, with turnout up substantially, and the boost has been especially dramatic in the smaller Frazee tourism market, where several new businesses have benefited. One year in, the project has landed some genuinely big recognition, with media coverage from Minnesota Public Radio, CBS This Morning, USA Today, and a mention in TIME’s 2025 list of “World’s Greatest Places.”
Planning Your Visit
You’ll want a car for this — the sites are spread out. Traveling to each troll’s location requires an automobile, though most sites sit within three to four miles of Detroit Lakes, with the exception of the troll in Wannigan Regional Park ten miles east at Frazee. Add it all up and, if you see all five trolls plus the Golden Rabbit, you’ll hike about five miles total on the troll adventure. Pack accordingly: bring comfortable shoes, water, sunscreen and insect repellent, and consider a walking stick if you have trouble on uneven ground.
Before you head out, swing by the visitor kiosk to get oriented. The recommended approach is to begin your journey at Alexa the Elixir in Detroit Lakes City Park and use the kiosk there to access the rest of the journey. Everything else — maps, addresses, accessibility notes — lives on Project 412’s website, and it has all the logistical information you need, including addresses, directions, and helpful tips if you’d rather plan ahead than wing it.
One last thing worth knowing if you’re a completionist: this is a genuinely huge undertaking that’s still growing. Dambo’s team built these trolls fast — crews completed the eight troll sites within just four weeks, producing what was, at the time, the largest U.S. installation of his trolls in one concentrated area. That kind of scale, in a town most people had never heard of before 2024, is exactly why this hunt has turned into something worth driving several states out of your way for.
NOTE TO THE ADVENTURER: This guide is meant to spark curiosity for what lies beyond the horizon — not to serve as a guarantee. Roads fall into disrepair, buildings are torn down and rebuilt, and properties change hands; 'tis your responsibility to do your own research before setting out. Always heed local and regional law, and always respect ground that isn't your own. Take every entry here as a suggestion, not a decree. This guide's contents were gathered with the aid of artificial intelligence, and like any scout, it will from time to time lead you astray. You assume all risk in following its counsel, and neither this blog nor its author is liable for any loss, injury, or misfortune that results.
