Visitors are flocking to Detroit Lakes for trolls, trails, nature art and birds

More than a dozen people stand, hushed, gazing at the trees along a wooded trail in Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge.

Suddenly, a song lilts from the upper branches. Someone whispers and points. Shoulders swivel.

A scarlet tanager lands on a branch, and everyone scrambles to focus their telephoto camera lenses or binoculars on the vibrant red bird. A few minutes later, there's an indigo bunting, followed by a parade of warbler sightings.

"A lot of what we do is birding by ear," says Wayne Brininger, a biologist at the refuge north of Detroit Lakes, Minn. Brininger helps spot and point out the small birds flitting about.

This is the 28th year that Detroit Lakes has hosted guided tours and talks for its Festival of Birds (coming May 15-17). The northwestern Minnesota region is a rare convergence of three biomes — tallgrass prairie, northern hardwoods and conifer forest — where people can see hundreds of species over two days.

And while it's been common to see birders relishing quiet moments on remote roads or trails, "The DL" is now drawing a broader range of nature lovers with two new parks and expanding art in the outdoors.

Trolls and new nature art

Last summer, the Detroit Lakes area mounted the world's largest installation of giant trolls by Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo. The organizer of Project 412 estimated that 100,000 visitors came to see the gigantic characters made mostly from old wood pallets with twiggy hair and barky eyebrows.

 

Collectively called "Alexa's Elixir," the troll installation also made Time magazine's 2025 list of the World's Greatest Places, which may draw a fresh flow of tourists this summer.

Two trolls were installed at new parks, including Ortenstone Gardens and Sculpture Park, which opened on 50-plus acres along Hwy. 10 near Lake Detroit. Two horses from Montana sculptor Jim Dolan were added to the property late in 2024, and Olga Ziemska, an Ohio artist known for large-scale sculptures, will be there for a residency from mid-May to mid-June, creating a new permanent piece.

Three of Ziemska's sculptures from Chicago's Morton Arboretum will also be on display for a year. They include a head sheathed with stones and a woman with long hair made from twigs that seems to blow in the wind.

The sculpture gardens, along with downtown's Washington Square Mall and Becker County Museum, will mount 55 reproductions of Charley Harper's minimalist nature art by Memorial Day weekend, in collaboration with the Muséum de Toulouse in France.

Convergence of trails

A second new park, Wannigan Regional Park, opened in nearby Frazee, Minn., last year. Each spring, visitors can hear swans honk from the Otter Tail River while warblers flit among the shoreline trees. A covered pedestrian bridge made from a converted rail car crosses the river, and there are plans for a campground.

Visitors stroll the trail paralleling the river on mostly open prairie until it reaches a small grove of trees where the troll Jacob Everear reclines and looks ready for a story.

The park's location intersects with the Otter Tail River State Water Trail, a spur of the North Country National Scenic Hiking Trail, and a multi-use trail linking Detroit Lakes and Frazee. The latter trail is intended to connect to a proposed extension of the Heartland State Trail from Park Rapids, Minn., to Fargo, N.D.

This convergence, like the area's potluck of Minnesota landscapes, lets travelers pick and choose their favorite way to wander, with the bonus of birds, trolls and art.

Things to do

The interactive adventure of Trolls in D.L. begins at Detroit Lakes City Park with Alexa, a troll who needs ingredients to mix a potion, sending visitors searching for four other trolls before finding the villain, a giant yellow rabbit. The woods of Detroit Mountain Recreation Area hide both the rabbit and Dambo's tallest troll to date, the 36-foot Long Leif.

Dambo creates the trolls to coax people into nature in more than 16 countries so far, and 20 U.S. states. A new one will be built in Wauwatosa, Wis., this summer.

The Festival of Birds hits the sweet spot when 30 species of warblers pass through on their way to boreal forests and trees have yet to leaf out and hide them. Prairie potholes and wetlands are also active with migrating or nesting waterfowl and shorebirds, and a few prairie chickens may be spotted booming and dancing at dawn.

The Pine to Prairie International Birding Trail runs through Detroit Lakes on a 200-mile stretch from Fergus Falls, Minn., into Manitoba (mnbirdtrail.com).

Downtown shopping includes great reads, home goods, gifts and locally made treats with Bluebird Books, Red Willow, Nature's Embrace Soap Company and Manna Food Co-op. Don't miss Lakeshirts Beach Shop along the lakeshore, with tables piled high with locally printed T-shirts, hoodies and hats from resorts, national parks and colleges across the country.

Tamarac National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 43,000 acres. Trails and a scenic drive wind past its 20 lakes, three rivers and thousands of wetlands that draw more than 250 bird species, including the golden-winged warbler. It's also home to showy lady's slipper orchids, black bears and wolves.

Detroit Mountain Recreation Area's 310 acres open up for hiking and single-track and downhill mountain biking in the summer and fall, with weekend chairlift service. Bike rentals are available, and there's a natural play area for kids. In the winter, it grooms downhill and cross-country trails, tubing lanes, with a snowboard park and trails for fat biking.

One of the nation's largest country music and camping festivals, WE Fest can draw more than 100,000 people for its annual three-day event at Soo Pass Ranch (Aug. 7-9).

Trucks and Tunes, a blend of food trucks and free music, runs Thursday nights starting June 5 at Detroit Lakes City Park. In the event of rain, the event moves to Bucks Mill Brewing.

Where to eat

Zorbaz, the pizza chain with 11 lakeside locations, began along Detroit Lake. Pizzas range from classics to ones inspired by Reuben or Cubano sandwiches, along with salads and spaghetti.

Modern in design with views of the lake, popular Hub 41 offers appetizers such as totchos with Korean pulled pork and Scotch eggs, summer salad with watermelon and basil dressing, noodle bowls and gnocchi mac and cheese.

Lakeside Tavern and Brewery serves poutine, beer cheese soup topped with Cheetos dust, burgers and footlong hot dogs, and locally made bangers and mash, with its own brews on tap.

Long Bridge Bar, Grill and Marina has a beachy atmosphere with boat parking, live music and food such as coconut shrimp, a pepper jack slaw burger and Jamaican wings.

Downtown's Bucks Mill Brewing makes ales, sours, stouts, seltzers and root beer in a setting that includes hops-inspired lamp designs, board games and pinball machines. Order snacks and charcuterie or bring in your own meal to enjoy.

Where to stay

With a main lodge on the shore of Pelican Lake, 99-year-old Fair Hills Resort includes cabins, a golf course, pickleball courts, pool, watercraft and a weekly Hootenanny now in its 50th year. Non-guests can get tickets to the lake cruise, a smorgasbord dinner and the show on Tuesday nights.

Two chain hotels boast beachfronts: Best Western Premier The Lodge on Lake Detroit and Holiday Inn Lakefront.

For more information, go to visitdetroitlakes.com.

Lisa Meyers McClintick is a St. Cloud-based freelance writer and author of "Day Trips From the Twin Cities" (2024).