See the trolls: Thomas Dambo’s sculptures turn recycled art into a global phenomenon

The Hilton Trends Report names 2026 the year of the “whycation,” a global movement where travel begins not with a destination, but with a motivation. For North Carolina, travelers need to look no further than public parks for this “why,” as thousands are expected to visit the newly christened Thomas Dambo troll sculptures across the state.

Danish artist and conservationist Thomas Dambo has creatively incorporated his troll sculptures in communities around the world since 2014. His creations now appear in more than 20 countries across five continents.

These giant trolls, a total of 19 in North Carolina, were constructed with reclaimed wood and built by Dambo and his volunteers in a matter of weeks this fall. Five trolls stand proudly in Raleigh, one in High Point, one in Charlotte and 12 in Asheville, N.C., marking the largest collection of Dambo trolls in a single state.

Wit Tuttell, executive director of Visit NC, says, “Thomas Dambo’s trolls will bring a message of joy that will resonate across the mountains and throughout the state.”

Travelers will plan 2026 family vacations, road trips and international travel with purpose. For many, finding Dambo’s trolls close to home or while on vacation provides a thread that connects each adventure with the reminder of human connection, creativity and global responsibility.

The intersection of art and community pride

Dambo doesn’t work alone. Each time a work is commissioned, local volunteers sign up for the opportunity to build the trolls using reclaimed materials. In Raleigh, the trolls were commissioned by Dix Park Conservancy and were privately funded. When it was time to recruit volunteers in Raleigh, the demand was so high it crashed the website. “You would’ve thought we were selling Taylor Swift tickets,” says Anna-Golden Torres, Dix Conservancy’s senior communications and marketing manager.

As the trolls’ popularity increases, so does the demand to be a part of history. The Facebook group, Dambo Troll Hunters, boasts more than 160,000 members worldwide who travel to see the trolls, volunteer and share photos of their experiences. Rachel Trapani, an art teacher in Michigan, is one such member who first learned about Dambo and his trolls in 2019. Soon after, she planned a trip to Denmark to see one of his trolls, and in the past six years has visited more than 14 trolls in various locations. She also volunteered to help build Michigan’s first installation, “Benny the Beard Fisher,” in 2023.

“That summer, myself, two of my best friends and their kids, traveled to Germfask, Mich., and worked alongside Dambo and his crew for a week to help build ‘Benny the Beard Fisher.’ Our jobs included trimming branches to a certain length for the beard, cutting pieces for his belly and legs and building birdhouses for the ‘Way of the Bird King’ trail they were leaving across the country,” says Trapani.

Dambo’s message intersects with a spirit of collaboration, which sets the artwork apart from other commissioned pieces. Local communities see themselves in the art, and some have the opportunity to interact with Dambo himself, which leads to a certain ownership and nostalgia with each piece.

Teaching moments that last

Each of Dambo’s installations has an accompanying story and often includes a scavenger hunt to make the experience even more interactive. “Artists like Dambo can inspire kids to make a change in this world,” Trapani explains. “His work is entertaining and engaging due to the playful nature of his creations, as well as the poems and fables he creates for each troll.”

The Dix Park Conservancy says the trolls have a lifespan of about 10 years, which can be extended with gentle and intentional care. With sustainability at the forefront of Dambo’s message, his work explores not only minimizing consumption but also creating opportunities to spread joy with what already exists.

Trapani, who also teaches a class at Eastern Michigan University, always includes a section on Dambo’s sculptures in her lessons. “The students often comment on how he is one of their favorite artists they have learned about during the course,” says Trapani. She continues, “Unlike artwork we see in museums, Thomas Dambo encourages people to interact with his troll sculptures by creating spaces for you …”

At Dix Park in Raleigh, “Mother Strongtail” boasts a 645-foot-long tail made of barrel staves provided by the Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Company. While most of Dambo’s trolls do not encourage climbing, visitors are welcome to walk on the winding tail that connects “Mother Strongtail” to her child, “Dix.”

The “why” in whycation for Dambo’s so-called troll hunters is the experience of collecting visits to the troll sites like stamps in a passport. Each exhibit is listed on the website Trollmap, where visitors create an account and tick off boxes for each troll they visit.

“I first came across ‘Jakob Two Trees’ in Issaquah and was instantly hooked. Since then, every trip to the Pacific Northwest has included a little troll-hunting adventure. I’ve seen four of Dambo’s trolls around Seattle and one in Portland, and each one feels like stumbling onto a bit of magic,” says Bella Bucchiotti of xoxoBella.

Economic Impact

Dambo’s economic impact is impressive. His installations draw an estimated 4.5 million visitors worldwide each year. In 2022, the city of Mandurah in Western Australia successfully commissioned Dambo’s work, hoping to revitalize its post-pandemic tourism. “Thomas Dambo’s ‘Giants of Mandurah’ were an absolute game changer for our city and surpassed our wildest expectations. The project reinvigorated our economy after the pandemic, highlighted the importance of caring for our natural environment and fostered cultural awareness in many amazing ways,” Mayor Rhys Williams says.

“Close to half a million visitors came to see the Giants in the first 12 months of the installation, and half of the visitors who made their way to Mandurah came specifically to see them. This, in turn, created a significant boost to our economy with $81 million in direct economic impact to local businesses in the first year.”

Detroit Lakes, Minn., with a population of 3,200, hoped to boost tourism with a Dambo commission last 2024. In the first six months, they estimated that visitors contributed approximately $5.99 million to the local economy, with more than 600 daily visitors in the peak months of July and August.

See the trolls

As travelers plan for 2026, many prioritize seeing certain trolls while the opportunity exists. Some installations are permanent, but have a limited lifespan due to the nature of the reclaimed materials. Others deteriorated and were dismantled, or like “Hector El Protector” in Culebra, Puerto Rico, destroyed by a natural disaster but then rebuilt by the community with Dambo’s help. Still, other exhibits are temporary, like the Trolls: A Field Study exhibition in Asheville, N.C., which runs from now through Feb. 17, 2026.

There is a sense of urgency for some troll hunters like Rachel Trapani as she plans her next trip. “The next trolls on my list are ‘The Bernheim Giants’ in Kentucky, ‘Bo’, ‘Bodil’ and ‘Bibbi’ at the Aullwood Audubon in Dayton, Ohio, and the traveling exhibit TROLLS: Save the Humans (currently in Omaha, Nebraska). I want to prioritize seeing the exhibits that are privately owned for fear that they may eventually be taken down.”

With more than a decade of creativity behind him, Dambo shows no signs of slowing down. There are sculptures planned for Iowa in the spring and even more undisclosed projects on the horizon. “I choose to spend my life showing the world that beautiful things can be made out of trash. I give new life to discarded materials by turning them into large-scale artworks. My aim at the moment is to build 1,000 Trolls using recycled materials all over the world,” states Dambo.

Andrea Updyke is a food and travel writer at Just is a Four Letter Word, where she shares easy recipes and family travel tips. When she isn’t traveling, Andrea loves spending time with her husband and two teenage sons in Raleigh, N.C.