If there’s one thing Seattle loves, it’s trolls. The Fremont Troll is a tourist hot spot and we even celebrate its birthday every year on Halloween. Most recently, the Northwest Trolls have made the Seattle area their temporary home. These five larger-than-life troll sculptures were erected around Seattle two years ago in the summer of 2023—but they’re not planning to stay forever, so be sure to visit them this year if you haven’t yet!
Read on to know where to find each troll!
The sculpture project Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King is the work of Danish environmental artist Thomas Dambo. He uses recycled materials to create giant troll sculptures around the world. Each troll is meant to represent an “underlying environmental story.” According to Dambo, “In nature, there is no landfill. Nature is circular, everything has a meaning and everything is recycled.” Thus the troll sculptures themselves are temporary and not meant to last.
Dambo didn’t work on the Northwest Trolls project alone. The project is managed by Scan Design Foundation and partnered with the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Dambo also worked with a team of 200 volunteers to install the troll sculptures.
Moreover, since the Northwest Troll sculptures will be located on Coast Salish territories, the Muckleshoot and Snoqualmie tribes also collaborated on the project. “The project celebrates the human experience of art by amplifying the connections of cultural heritage between Coast Salish tribal communities and Danish and Scandinavian traditions,” explains the project website.
Wondering where you’ll be able to find the trolls? The exact location of each troll was announced as their construction was completed. The five trolls in the Puget Sound region can be found in the following locations:
- Frankie Feetsplinters, the only urban troll, lives just outside the National Nordic Museum in Ballard.
- Bruun Idun lives in Lincoln Park in West Seattle.
- Jakob Two Trees lives on Rainier Trail about 0.25 miles from the Issaquah Community Center in Issaquah, which involves a 20-minute drive east from downtown Seattle.
- Pia the Peacekeeper lives in Sakai Park on Bainbridge Island.
- Oscar the Bird King lives in Point Robinson Park on Vashon Island, which is only accessible by ferry.
Dambo has also installed one troll sculpture in Portland named Ole Bolle for a total of six in the Northwest Trolls project. If your goal is to visit all six Northwest Trolls, be prepared to allot two to three days for the adventure. Vashon Island is only accessible by ferry and Portland is about three hours’ worth of driving from Seattle.
Hot tip: Since there’s a ferry between West Seattle and Vashon, you could easily visit Bruun Idun and Oscar the Bird King in one day.
It’s up to you whether you’d like to wander through the parks to discover the trolls yourself or plan ahead with the help of a map. The Northwest Trolls website includes more information about each troll’s backstory. You’ll also find a free geocaching app to aid you in your exploring.
Dambo and his team began construction on August 1st, 2023 and finished by September 17, 2023. The troll sculptures will be maintained for a minimum of three years, “with the hope and goal of maintaining the trolls for as long as possible” according to the project website. This could be as long as 10 to 15 years.
Visitors can touch and hug the trolls but should treat them with care—for example, do not climb on them. This will ensure they last for as long as possible. We hope they’ll be very happy here in the PNW for years to come!
You can read more on the project website.