Father’s Day Troll Stroll & Spread The Kindness Link Up On the Edge #813

This past Sunday, we went on a Father’s Day Troll Stroll. The Troll Stroll is an art installation called TROLLS: Save the Humans that is on exhibit at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, New York, from June 1 through October 31, 2026. This touring exhibition features six giant folklore inspired troll sculptures made from reclaimed materials. The artist, Thomas Dambo, created these delightful sculptures to share a message about the importance of recycling and reusing our trash. He created these adorable trolls to “teach humans to rediscover nature and inspire them to be good stewards of the earth.”

The trail walk is a little over a mile with each troll comfortably situated in their own private grove areas throughout the woods. As you walk along the wooded trail, there are a plethora of nature inspired activities like a series of ball runs lining the walkway. You can drop your ball in and follow it as it travels down the wooden chutes to the next one along the trail.

There is also a Wild Walk which features a series of bridges that are built right into the treetops of the Adirondack Mountains. Along the trail walk, you can find a four-story twig tree house, swinging bridges, a giant spider’s web, and a full-sized bald eagle’s nest at the highest point. You can stop to rest along the way on a variety of different swings and other seating areas, all made from repurposed trash like reclaimed wood and old wagon wheels. There is also a little rock mushroom garden which pleased my hippie soul.

Before I introduce you to the amazingly adorable trolls, here are some photos we took along the trail.

Inside the museum itself, there is an entire nature center featuring all sorts of wildlife that is native to this region of the Adirondack Mountains. I didn’t take very many photos inside the nature center but I did manage to capture the otters frolicking in the water.

Now let’s meet the sweet trolls!

The first troll we came upon was Rosa Sunfinger, the Botanical Troll. “Rosa brings back life where humans have abandoned it. She spreads her wisdom by showing how plants can make even the most useless items come back to life, with the help of her sunny fingertips.”

The next troll we discovered was Sofus Lotus, the Listening Troll. “Sofus is an introverted type who pays great attention to the little things. He uses his ears to hear every little crackle, thud, and buzz. Time only exists as a source of light during the day, which changes the shadows of his surroundings.” He is facing in the direction of the stick hut in the last picture below. If you click the link on his name, you can see a 360º view of his little area in the woods.

The third troll we met was Basse Buller, the Painting Troll. “Basse Buller spreads his message in mud paint, using every available surface. He is a wild child at heart, but when he starts painting, he finds his calm. He loves to express himself through symbols and shapes inspired by the nature he lives in and he makes his marks with stones, leaves, sticks, or anything that he can find. An explorer and rebel, he understands ‘no’ as ‘maybe’ and sees that boundaries are there to be pushed with signs, words and often a beat to make the message even clearer. You are not in doubt when this troll is around. He is funny, loud, and gets his muddy paint everywhere in an effort to lead the humans onto the right path.”

The fourth troll on our path was Kamma Can, the Treasure Troll. “Kamma Can is a creator. Where humans see trash, she sees potential. Over the last years of human existence, the amount of colorful eternity material has increased rapidly. Kamma finds this new material rather beautiful, and she simply doesn’t understand why the humans just throw it away and leave it in the weirdest places.” For obvious reasons, she was my favorite troll!

The fifth troll we encountered was Ibbi Pop, the Birdhouse Troll. As you enter the area of the forest where Ibbi resides, your ears are met the most beautiful sounds of Forest Music coming from the many speakers attached to the surrounding trees. “Ibbi Pip is a handy, optimistic troll and a friend of all animals. She tries to communicate with the humans through colorful birdhouses because she holds a strong belief that there is still hope for them.” She was my second favorite troll with all of her colorful birdhouses and the musically immersive experience was really cool, too.

And finally, we found the sixth troll, Ronja Redeye, the Speaker Troll, who is actually the first troll who stands at the entrance to the nature center but we didn’t find her until the end. “Ronja Redeye speaks from her heart and is really good with words. Although she is the smallest of the group that wants to save the humans, she has a mighty voice and is a natural leader.”

Living in an extremely rural area, we don’t have very many opportunities for interesting family excursions within driving distance so we were very excited to travel the 2 hours to experience this whimsical woodland treat! Not only was it an amazing art exhibit but it also delivers a powerful environmental message that speaks to my hippie soul. If you are heading anywhere near the Adirondack Mountains in northeastern New York this summer or fall, I highly recommend adding a stop at Tupper Lake’s Wild Center to stretch your legs, enjoy the beauty of the north country nature, and meet these fantastical trolls!

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If you are interested in the details of my crazy bohemian fruit bowl outfit that really stood out in the woods, I shared a dedicated outfit post on Tuesday. You can check it out here.

Keeping it on the edge,

Shelbee