If you’ve been searching Breckenridge’s Sawmill Trail hoping to stumble on a giant wooden troll named Mama Loumari, here’s the honest answer: she’s not there, and she never has been. Mama Loumari actually lives about 1,300 miles away in a Kentucky forest. The troll waiting for you in Breckenridge is her husband, Isak Heartstone, and he’s tucked along a completely different path called the Trollstigen Trail.
It’s an easy mix-up to make, so let’s untangle it, because the real story is even better than the mistaken one.
Who Is Mama Loumari, and Where Does She Actually Live?
Mama Loumari is one of three “Forest Giants” built by Danish artist Thomas Dambo at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, Kentucky. Danish artist Thomas Dambo crafted the trio of woodland creatures from recycled regional wood to help Bernheim celebrate its 90th anniversary in 2019. She shares the forest with her two children, Little Nis and Little Elina, and together they make up one of the most photographed troll families in the country.
Mama Loumari isn’t just resting in the woods for fun. She reclines on the ground, her belly round with her third giant baby, a short walk from the roadside, with tree-stump chairs beside her for visitors to rest. Nearby, her son watches his own reflection while her daughter tends a rock garden. Visitors can walk the full loop connecting all three giants, since the Bernheim Forest is home to Mama Loumari, Little Elina, and Little Nis, three giants that await discovery along a scenic 2-mile trail.
So Why Do People Connect Her to Breckenridge?
Because she’s technically married into Colorado royalty. Thomas Dambo doesn’t just build trolls, he writes fairy tales about them, and those tales link his sculptures across state lines. In one story called “While the Weather Got Better,” Isak spent the winter visiting his family in Kentucky, where his wife, Loumari, and two children Elina and Nis live. While there, Isak and Loumari conceived another baby. But once the seasons started to turn and the weather started getting better, Isak felt the call of the High Country.
That’s the whole reason the two locations get tangled together online. Isak’s story is literally written to send him back and forth between his family in Kentucky and his post in Colorado. He’s the dad who commutes a couple thousand miles for the mountain views.
Wait, Isn’t There Also a Fairy Forest on the Sawmill Trail?
Here’s the other piece of the confusion. Breckenridge’s Sawmill Trail does have its own whimsical woodland detour, but it has nothing to do with Thomas Dambo’s trolls. It’s a grassroots “Fairy Forest” built by locals and visitors leaving tiny handmade houses, mushrooms, and figurines along the path. Unfortunately, if you’re planning a visit, know that the Town of Breckenridge closed the trail due to overuse and in accordance with “leave no trace” requirements, even though the area of disturbance was relatively small. As of recent trip reports, that closure is still in effect, with one hiker noting in 2026 that the Fairy Forest is closed so you have to go along the parallel road, which isn’t as nice, and recommending going via Sawmill Creek instead. So even the fairy-themed detour people associate with Breckenridge’s trail system isn’t the troll family story, and it’s currently off-limits anyway.
Meet Isak Heartstone: The Troll Actually Waiting for You in Breckenridge
Isak is the real deal, and his backstory has almost as much drama as his wife’s fairy tale. In August, Danish artist Thomas Dambo crafted a 15-foot troll out of reclaimed wood about a mile up the Wellington Trail for the Breckenridge International Festival of Arts running Aug. 10-19, 2018. The artist named his work “Isak Heartstone” after children in the neighborhood gave him the gift of a heart-shaped stone, which was incorporated into the sculpture.
The trouble started fast. Homeowners in the Wellington neighborhood most affected by the heavy traffic going to see the troll asked Breckenridge Town Council to have the sculpture removed. The town obliged, and the original troll was dismantled. But Dambo wasn’t ready to let his creation go, and after months of public back-and-forth, Breckenridge brought Isak back to life in a new spot. The new location was set behind the Stephen C. West Ice Arena on Boreas Pass Road. Today, that path is officially known as the Trollstigen Trail, and in the summer of 2024, the Trollstigen Trail was upgraded to better welcome all visitors.
Dambo later reflected on the whole saga with a line that’s stuck with plenty of locals: “Trash can be something really big, and beautiful,” he told CBS Colorado. Considering Isak is built entirely from reclaimed wood and scrap, it’s a fitting way to sum up the whole project.
How to Actually Find Isak Heartstone
Skip the Sawmill Trail search and head here instead. Isak Heartstone is a 15-foot-tall wooden troll sculpture located on the Trollstigen Trail in Breckenridge, with the trailhead located in the southeast corner of the Stephen C. West Ice Arena parking lot, next to the Illinois Gulch Trailhead. The walk itself is short and family-friendly, with a trail length of about 0.25 miles round trip, an easy, well-maintained path suitable for all ages and fitness levels.
A couple of practical notes before you go. There is no troll parking at the trailhead, and “no parking” areas on nearby town or county roads are strictly enforced with a $50 ticket. Your best bet is to park downtown and walk, bike, or hop on the free trolley, since you can start at the Breckenridge Welcome Center on South Main Street and walk in about 15 minutes, bike in 10, or ride the Breck Free Ride Trolley, which regularly leaves from Breckenridge Station at the base of the BreckConnect Gondola, in about 5 minutes.
Want to Meet the Whole Family?
If Isak’s backstory has you curious about the rest of the clan, Bernheim Forest in Clermont, Kentucky, is where you’ll find Mama Loumari, Little Nis, and Little Elina all together. It’s a genuine road trip destination for troll hunters, and honestly, splitting the family across two states makes the whole story more fun to chase. Just don’t expect to find Mama Loumari waiting for you on a Colorado trail anytime soon. Her home, for now, is a quiet patch of Kentucky woods, patiently waiting for Isak to wander back for another visit.
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.
