Twelve towering troll sculptures built from fallen branches, scrap wood, pallets and twigs are about to take over the landscapes of two Pierce County parks. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park in Eatonville open TROLLS: A Field Study on Oct. 15, marking the first time the roaming art installation has landed in the Pacific Northwest.
According to KIRO 7 News Seattle, Point Defiance Zoo described the exhibition as transforming the region's scenery into a whimsical world where folklore, nature and imagination collide. The sculptures, created by Danish artist Thomas Dambo, are built entirely from reclaimed materials, as reported by dnews.com, which also notes the two parks are the first locations in the Pacific Northwest to host the trolls. Each sculpture stands between 7 and 9 feet tall, per pdza.org.
Where to Find the Trolls
Four of the twelve trolls will be hidden throughout the grounds at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, while the remaining eight will be scattered across Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, according to pdza.org. The exhibit runs through Jan. 24, 2027, giving visitors more than three months to track down the full set. Point Defiance Zoo's website offers details on how to learn more and purchase tickets, per KIRO 7 News Seattle.
Seeing one park's collection does not include entry to the other — a visitor needs separate admission to each park to see all twelve sculptures, and parking is free at both locations, according to a Pierce County tourism guide from visitpiercecounty.com. The exhibit itself is included with each park's general admission or applicable membership, the same guide notes, so there's no separate ticket just for the trolls.
A Conflict Over Accessibility
The two parks' accessibility claims don't fully line up. Point Defiance says all of the trolls will be ADA-accessible from paved pathways, per pdza.org. But the Pierce County guide describes a different picture, stating that most trolls are visible from accessible paved paths, while one sits along an unpaved Nature Trail with roots, uneven ground and a gentle slope. Visitors with mobility concerns may want to check with the parks directly before planning a route.
Sustainability Is the Point
Beyond the spectacle, the exhibition leans heavily into a message about reuse. Pdza.org states that the installation highlights themes of sustainability, creativity and environmental stewardship by turning discarded materials into monumental works of art, a theme that runs through Dambo's broader body of work as he reimagines scrap wood and forest debris into towering folklore figures.
What Happened When the Trolls Visited North Carolina
If Pierce County's turnout echoes what happened on the other side of the country, local businesses could feel the effects. A comparable Trolls: A Field Study installation at the North Carolina Arboretum ran from Nov. 15, 2025 through Feb. 17, 2026 and featured twelve interactive troll sculptures, according to wlos.com. That exhibit drew more than 150,000 guests and generated $6.35 million in direct spending, the outlet reported, producing the arboretum's highest recorded attendance in its 40-year history. Food and drink businesses in the Asheville area benefited from $2.6 million of that spending, while local lodging businesses and retail shops each generated around $1 million, per the same report.
Whether Tacoma and Eatonville see anything close to that scale remains to be seen, but the comparison gives a sense of what a Dambo troll trail can do for a region's tourism economy. For now, the twelve new Pacific Northwest trolls are set to make their debut in just over a week, inviting visitors to wander both parks in search of the full dozen before the exhibit wraps up in January.
