In Detroit Lakes, a giant troll hunt with a cast of hundreds

A line of four ATVs jostle and crunch through the brush along rugged trails. Suddenly, they pause. Danish artist Thomas Dambo, known for building giant trolls around the world using only recycled materials, hops out in a bucket hat and fleece pullover and holds up a red bandana.

"Blindfolds on!" he says, and the group of journalists obliges. They've signed waivers, and even given up their phones, which might have tracked their location. In doing so, they were among the few people to get a sneak peek at creatures such as Long Leif (pronounced "Life"), who towers 36 feet tall at the edge of a clearing.

Leif — the tallest troll Dambo has built to date — sports bark for eyebrows and a few warts, and stands on giant feet with long arms draping over a wood-shingled body supported by a former telephone pole.

"I feel proud," Dambo said of his creation, joking, "like a really small proud dad."

Dambo, 45, can seem like a big kid with a playful imagination and fondness for folkloric creatures. But he's serious about no one spoiling this summer's massive treasure hunt in northwestern Minnesota.

The hunt, which opened to the public on Monday and is free, leads participants on a 70-mile stretch from Perham, Minn., to Fargo to find six giant trolls, three magic mirror portals, and the essential clues to locating a golden rabbit — the villain of the hunt — tucked into the rolling woods near Detroit Lakes.

"We want people to get outside and get some exercise — to open their eyes and senses while they go searching," said Dambo, who has built 138 trolls in 20 countries and 18 U.S. states. "It's not something you just do over a couple of hours."

Small town, supersized project

Detroit Lakes' art-forward nonprofit Project 412 (named for the 412 lakes within 25 miles of the city) orchestrated Minnesota's first troll project after a board member saw one of Dambo's creations in Colorado. They considered just one or two trolls, but then the installation kept growing. So did the support.

Project 412 helped Dambo find troll locations and coordinated hundreds of people who signed up for 472 work shifts to build the trolls' bodies. The hands, feet and expressive faces were created at Dambo's Danish studio and shipped to Minnesota.

"There must be more than 500 people who've touched the project in one way or another," said Amy Stoller Stearns, Project 412′s executive director. "Detroit Lakes stepped up in a big way."

That included making meals, offering housing, and building and painting more than 800 birdhouses to accompany the project. Some volunteers included troll fans who traveled from as far away as Texas and Georgia.

The whir of drills and thunks of wood on wood could be heard last Thursday, as crews wrapped up the last of eight sites pulled together in four weeks, creating Dambo's largest U.S. installation in one area.

Most trolls require about 1,000 hours to design, plan and build. They might be waggling a tongue at visitors, lounging on a grassy hillside, peeking into a cabin, or fishing from rocky ledges.

"I do my best work when I get my artistic freedom," Dambo said, and that can include creating long, gnarly beards with sticks or long tails that wind into the forest. "I can decide what it looks like. I'm the troll man, you know?"

Trash-to-treasure mission

Dambo spent his childhood finding new uses for objects rescued from trash bins, the local dump and recycling sites. He's been a hip-hop musician, a YouTuber and a street artist and created his first troll at a Denmark festival in 2014. Since then, commissioned trolls have taken him across Europe to Asia, South America and Australia.

His family, including wife Alexa Piekarski, who is from New Hampshire, took a buy-nothing pledge last July to reduce waste as they raise their now 22-month-old sons. Peikarski's skill with making cold-fighting herbal elixirs inspired the troll named Alexa, who wields a giant spoon in Detroit Lakes' City Park. She's the easy-to-find first stop for troll hunters.

Alexa begins the story, seeking ingredients for a potion to save humans from an evil spell cast by a golden rabbit. The rabbit, whose location remains tightly guarded, serves as the finale to the troll hunt. Its design was inspired by the yellow crates a local company had discarded. Crews cut apart the crates to cover the rabbit in a shingle style, like the trolls.

"The eyes were made with motorbike helmets, the teeth are made from boat bumpers and the whiskers were windshield wipers," Dambo explained.

With the trolls, he enjoys encouraging people to rethink waste and give discarded materials new life while also inspiring folks to team up and get out into nature.

"It's all the things I love to do," said Dambo, whose next big goal is to have trolls in all 50 U.S. states. "It's beautiful to bring a community together."

Seeing the trolls

Start in downtown Detroit Lakes, where the troll story — and clues — begin. The full stretch of troll installations stretches about 70 miles through northwest Minnesota and is best explored over more than one day — or get an early start and plan to stay late. Some sites will be handicapped-accessible, and most walks are a quarter-mile or less. More information is available at project412mn.org/trolls-dl.

How long are they on display?

While weather influences how long the trolls will last, they are expected to be around for about 10 years. They're dismantled once the wood breaks down and exposed nails and screws become a hazard.

Where to learn more

Dambo's thick carbon-neutral book, "Trash, Trolls and Treasure Hunts," with photos and stories from his first 100 trolls built around the world, can be found at Bluebird Books in Detroit Lakes (bluebirdbooks.store).

Other attractions in Detroit Lakes

Project 412 also sponsors Trucks & Tunes, which brings in food trucks and free music most summer Thursdays from 5-8 p.m. at Detroit Lakes City Park. Bring your own chair. Meanwhile, Jelly Roll, Parker McCollum and Eric Church headline WE Fest, a legendary country festival Aug. 1-3 at the Soo Pass Ranch (MusicinDL.com).

Where to eat

Enjoy lakeside views at dining spots such as Hub 41 near downtown or Long Bridge Bar, Grill & Marina.

Where to sleep

Detroit Lakes has about 450 hotel rooms, including a Best Western Premier and Holiday Inn built along Hwy. 10 and Big Detroit Lake. RV parks and campgrounds, plus resorts such as Fair Hills, can be found along other lakes. Lodging can also be found 45 miles to the west in Fargo-Moorhead (visitdetroitlakes.com).

St. Cloud-based freelance writer Lisa Meyers McClintick's latest edition of her guidebook, "Day Trips From the Twin Cities," is out now.