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Jakob Two Trees, one of Thomas Dambo’s Northwest trolls, stands between trees near the Rainier Trail in Issaquah. Photo: Julie Dodobara
It’s the first birthday of the Thomas Dambo trolls in the Pacific Northwest, and we are celebrating all the magic they have brought this past year.
If you didn’t know, these giant troll sculptures crept into our region one by one last summer, and each one is an unusual sight to behold. These charming giants combine art, nature and environmentalism into an interactive public art form.
This public art exhibition, titled “Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King,” is the work of Thomas Dambo, a Danish artist and storyteller. Dambo and his crew took a road trip across the United States, stopping in various places to create troll sculptures in parks and natural spaces. The last leg of Dambo’s road trip brought him to the Pacific Northwest, where he and his team constructed six unique trolls right in our neck of the woods!
From Portland to Vashon Island, each Pacific Northwest troll is worthy of a visit.
Thomas Dambo’s trolls in the Pacific Northwest
The southernmost Pacific Northwest troll resides at Portland’s Nordic Northwest, a museum and cultural center. This troll’s name is Ole Bolle, and he has his own little red playhouse. Kids are welcome to go inside. Plan to stop in if you’re in the Portland area.
Pia the Peacekeeper can be found on Bainbridge Island.
Pia and the other trolls are created from recycled materials, as well as items from local forests, meadows, mountains, farms and the sea. Among them are fir branches, driftwood, moss, shells, cedar and apple branches.
You can find West Seattle’s troll in Lincoln Park. Her name is Bruun Idun and from her spot in the trees, she sings to the orcas of the Salish Sea.
Tucked in the Issaquah forest, you’ll find Jakob Two Trees. He’s taken up residence next to the Rainier Trail near the Issaquah Community Center. Because Jakob Two Trees lives right in town (though up in the trees), he’s remained very popular since his debut.
On Vashon Island, you can meet the namesake of the entire Pacific Northwest project: Oscar the Bird King. Find Oscar at Point Robinson, where you will want to closely inspect Oscar’s incredible crown and beard.
Looking for the Dambo troll in Ballard? Enter Frankie Feetsplinter. Unlike some of the other trolls, Frankie is not hiding in the woods. He’s keeping watch at the entrance to the National Nordic Museum right on Market Street.
Where are the Thomas Dambo trolls?
While the precise location of each troll was kept secret until the day it awoke, their locations are now common knowledge. Troll hunters can go on a quest to visit them all. Our Instagram has a fun Thomas Dambo trolls map, along with tips for where to find each one.
Where to find the Pacific Northwest trolls:
- Ole Bolle lives at Nordic Northwest in Portland.
- Pia the Peacekeeper can be found at Sakai Park on Bainbridge Island.
- Bruun Idun is West Seattle’s troll. She is stationed near the Colman Pool in Lincoln Park, singing to the orcas in the Salish Sea.
- Issaquah’s troll, Jakob Two Trees, is along the Rainier Trail near the Issaquah Community Center.
- Vashon Island’s troll is the project’s namesake, Oscar the Bird King. Find him at Point Robinson.
- Ballard’s troll, Frankie Feetsplinter, stands sentinel at the entrance to the National Nordic Museum.
Our local troop of trolls adds to the more than 100 already in place around the world. Some troll superfans have traveled to other countries to find Dambo’s creatures, and in the process, formed an international community. Previously awakened trolls include Benny the Beard Fisher, fishing with a long beard in a river in Michigan; and Rita the Rock Planter, who fills human-made holes by planting rocks in them on a mountainside in Colorado.
Getting to know the Thomas Dambo trolls
Each Dambo troll has a clever name as well as a delightful backstory that connects to a theme. Dambo uses recycled materials, mostly discarded pallets, to build the trolls. For each one, he weaves themes of honoring the land and protecting nature into its story. Locally, he and his team worked with area tribes, as well as parks departments, museums, funding agencies and volunteers.
Through his art, Dambo hopes to encourage everyone to be curious, to get outside and explore, while also prompting us to think about protecting the nature around us. He invites families curious about the trolls to think carefully about our planet’s shortage of resources and abundance of garbage. Through his work, he seeks to highlight that trash can truly become treasure.
“I want people to know that trash has value. My trolls do that, and also help me tell stories, like the legends I grew up with,” Dambo said in a press release. “In nature, there is no landfill. Nature is circular, everything has a meaning and everything is recycled.” In the Pacific Northwest, the Scan Design Foundation managed this ambitious project, with funding from the Paul G. Allen Foundation and many other local donors.
FAQs about seeing the Dambo trolls ...
More Seattle-area adventures for families on a troll hunt: |
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2023 and was updated in September 2024 by ParentMap’s family fun editor, Meredith Charaba, for the Pacific Northwest trolls’ first birthday.
