How I Saw All 5 Washington PNW Trolls in One Day (with Map)
Are you looking to hunt the Thomas Dambo PNW trolls in Washington State? I’ll show you how I saw them all in one day!
In the summer of 2023, Thomas Dambo came from Denmark to install 5 Pacific Northwest trolls around the Seattle area. These friendly wooden works of art are scattered in public parks, are free to visit, and are truly remarkable.
I wanted to see if I could visit all 5 trolls in the Seattle area in one day, since it’s only a 2hr drive from where I live.
I carefully planned out ferry schedules and driving times ahead of time, leaving some room for error.
I’m happy to report this epic PNW trolls road trip was a success and here’s how I pulled it off!
Want to see all the trolls in one day too?
🗺️ My Troll Trekking Planner takes the guesswork out of putting your trip together.
Northwest Trolls in a Day Snapshot Schedule
There are 2 trolls in Seattle, the other 3 are nearby.
The PNW trolls locations are:
- National Nordic Museum in Ballard, Seattle – Frankie Feetsplinters
- Lincoln Park, West Seattle – Bruun Idun
- Rainier Trail by Issaquah Community Center, Issaquah – Jakob Two Trees
- Sakai Park on Bainbridge Island – Pia the Peacekeeper
- Point Robinson on Vashon Island – Oscar the Bird King
Thomas Dambo PNW Trolls Map Washington State
This Northwest Trolls Map of the Seattle area trolls gives you a visual of where they are all located:
And this was the timeline of our northwest troll trekking day:
- 7:30am – Start Northwest troll trekking at Frankie Feetsplinters in Ballard
- 8:40am – Take ferry from downtown Seattle to Bainbridge Island to see Pia the Peacekeeper
- 10:25am – Take ferry from Bainbridge Island to downtown Seattle
- 11:30am – Take ferry from Fauntleroy in West Seattle to Vashon Island to see Oscar the Bird King
- 1:40pm – Take ferry from Vashon Island to Fauntleroy to see Bruun Idun in West Seattle then drive to Issaquah to see Jakob Two Trees
- 3:30pm – End of Northwest troll trekking
⚠️Use this as a guide when planning, but be sure to always confirm ferry schedules as they change throughout the year.
If you’d rather not worry about logistics, I can take care of that for you with my troll itinerary service.
Okay, now let’s get into the deets of how we pulled this schedule off!
#1 Frankie Feetsplinters – Ballard
7:30am – Start
We started our day in Ballard to see Frankie Feetsplinters. This guy sits out front of the National Nordic Museum and can easily be seen from Market St if you are driving by.
We parked across the street and jotted over to say hi.
The sign below Frankie has a QR code to learn more about him and the other trolls.
“Frankie don’t like slimy fish, cause fishes are all so dumb.
And Frankie don’t like little humans, humans are so dumb.
Frankie don’t even like trolls, cause trolls are also dumb.
But Frankie’s mouth’s the only one that says the word of dumb.” – NW Trolls
Nobody else was around except for people walking to work or on their morning jog.
We got our troll selfie and got back in the car as we had a ferry to catch.
#2 Pia the Peacekeeper – Bainbridge Island
8:40am Ferry
We drove to downtown Seattle and got a little turned around trying to follow the green ferry signs. Thankfully we were doing fine on time and eventually found the ferry entrance.
We paid our toll fee and got in line. The ferry wasn’t full, so there was plenty of room on the boat.
The autumn air was a little nippy, there was some hazy fog, but the sun was shining and the Seattle skyline was beautiful with views towards the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, and the stadiums.
We kept our eyes out for orcas, as they have been seen from time to time, but all we saw were seagulls and jumping fish.
The 35 minute ferry ride was over quickly and we were driving onto Bainbridge Island in no time.
Pia the Peacekeeper sits in Sakai Park only 1.5 miles away, which took about 5 minutes to drive to.
There was parking space for only a few cars near the trail, with signs that said “No School Parking” as the elementary school is across the street. A secondary parking lot was down the driveway a little bit.
Thankfully no one else was in the lot, so we easily got front row parking.
A pole with brightly colored birdhouses caught my eye, but I passed it off as another art installation in the park.
A short trail led us to Pia.
“Pretty pretty please, let’s keep the peace beneath the trees.
Hold you in my hand I will remind you with a squeeze.
Quiet little people cause your criers make me tired.
Pia likes to play with people, people they keep quiet.” – NW Trolls
Pia was fun and interactive as its hands were down where we could get cliche funny photos.
I liked the necklace made of driftwood and shells.
As we were leaving another group showed up, so that was good timing.
Pegasus Coffee House
Because we had some time to kill we stopped at Pegasus Coffee House for some caffeine and snacks.
Built in 1937 as the Anderson Hardware store, the ivy-covered brick building glowed with autumn colors outside and warm Edison lights and a crackling fireplace inside.
Pegasus roasts their own coffee, and I ordered their cold brew with homemade pumpkin cold foam cold brew as well as a savory pastry. The coffee was good (and strong); the pastry could’ve used more salt.
The staff were super friendly and apologetic for a rude customer who was being a busybody with my sister-in-law.
We took a few minutes to enjoy our snacks before heading back to the ferry.
10:25am Ferry
The ferry was less than a mile away so we easily made it over to catch it back to Seattle. Again, not a full ferry so no problems getting on.
We played some rounds of Spot It! at a table to pass the crossing time. It’s an easy to pack card game, easy to teach, and easy to play for all ages. It’s the perfect ferry game (aside from maybe being a little rowdy for other passengers lol!).
Want to see all the trolls in one day too?
🗺️ My Troll Trekking Planner takes the guesswork out of putting your trip together.
#3 Oscar the Bird King – Vashon Island
11:30am Ferry
This is where I pushed it a little too close to the sun with a miscalculation in my itinerary. We had 22 minutes to catch the ferry in West Seattle at Fauntleroy that left 20 minutes after we deboarded.
Crystal made sure to keep the speed up as she drove to the terminal. Of course, we fell behind someone going below the speed limit a mile before the entrance.
But, by an act of God, we pull up as the ferry is unloading and we made it on board without a hitch, with a couple minutes to spare even.
The ferry trip to Vashon Island was a little shorter, only 20 minutes long. The views were a bit different, with neighborhoods instead of city and more island to see. Mount Rainier was looking pretty good too.
We unloaded off the ferry and headed south on Vashon.
The Ruby Brink
We stopped for lunch at The Ruby Brink in town. This place is a butchery as well as a public house restaurant that “focuses on whole animal butchery, thoughtful sourcing of all ingredients, preservation & curing in the kitchen“.
They have a family-dining side and a 21+ side in the restaurant. Seat yourself but wherever you sit you order from the counter.
All three of us ordered the same thing, the T.R.B. Dip. It’s a soft baguette sandwich with house roasted pure country roast beef, Swiss cheese, horseradish, and Kewpie mayo. On the side was a small dipping bowl of pure bone broth.
It was delicious and definitely a high quality, I’m definitely going to be thinking about it for years to come.
As we were eating lunch, we double checked our plans to make sure we are good on time.
Oscar was only a 12 minute drive from lunch instead of the 35 minutes I thought it was going to be, which meant that we could potentially catch an earlier ferry than the 3:20pm sailing I had planned!
Now, this was another miscalculation I had in pre-planning, but this time it wasn’t my fault. Instead, this was a Google Maps glitch. But I’ll explain how we figured that out later.
So we headed to Oscar the Bird King with hope in our hearts.
Oscar is the Point Robinson Park troll, at the trailhead for the path to the lighthouse.
Near the trail was another pole with the same brightly colored birdhouses. This is when I realized the birdhouses were obviously a tell tale sign of trolls nearby.
The parking lot was a bit busy with people, and I was worried that the troll would also be busy for picture taking. But it appeared that most were there for lighthouse and park trails, as no one was at Oscar when we walked up.
As we approached Oscar, we saw that he was surrounded by unpainted birdhouses. Even his crown had birdhouses. Fitting as he is the Bird King.
“He swam here from the island where his mother once had birthed him.
He walked across the mountains ’til his giant feet start hurting.
He spoke a crow, a little girl, the orcas heard him sing.
He used to be a little troll, now Oscar is the Bird King!” – NW Trolls
A king must have a throne, and Oscar was sitting on his own giant log throne, which was pretty cool.
He was also another interactive troll as his finger was pointing down at us, perfect for a photo op.
Once again, a group showed up to the troll just as we were leaving, so no sharing required lol.
Oscar was our favorite PNW troll out of the five.
Google Maps Glitch
Okay, now, about that miscalculation.
As we were plugging into Google Maps how long it would take us to get back to the ferry instead of it saying 25 minutes, it was now saying 45 minutes! Which meant we would miss the ferry.
But again, it didn’t seem correct as it only took us a total of 25 minutes to come down.
Well, we figured out that if we chose Vashon Island North-End Ferry Terminal as our destination, it was a 45 minute drive. BUT if we chose Wild Mermaid, the coffee shop right next to the terminal it was only 25 minutes.
Maybe it had something to do with the holding area within the terminal that was throwing Google off? I don’t know. But if you find yourself in this situation, be warned!
So we made it to the ferry in time and the line of cars waiting was going up the hill. We’re unfamiliar with this ferry and didn’t know how far back we actually were. It felt like there was no way we would make it on this sailing.
But, Washington ferries are like an optical illusion and hold a lot more cars than they appear to be able. We made it on the ferry no problem, and once again, the boat wasn’t full in the slightest.
Want to see all the trolls in one day too?
🗺️ My Troll Trekking Planner takes the guesswork out of putting your trip together.
#4 Bruun Idun – West Seattle
1:40pm Ferry
We crossed the Puget Sound for the last time back to Fauntleroy in West Seattle and fit in a few last rounds of SpotIt!.
Conveniently, Bruun Idun is in Lincoln Park, right next door to the Fauntleroy ferry terminal.
We parked the car in Parking Lot #2 and immediately saw the pole of colored birdhouses, marking that we were in the right park.
We realized that we actually had to hike to Bruun Idun as it’s smack dab in the middle of the park.
A short trail leads down to the paved, flat biking trail along the water’s edge. There were lots of people out walking their dogs, Corgis especially; are they the breed rave this year?!
It was an easy 0.5-mile stroll. (a troll stroll? lol!)
Bruun Idun was standing there blowing her flute. I think she was the prettiest PNW troll out of the five.
“In the night there was a storm, there at the beach she was born.
And Idun felt a feeling wrong and so she walked there in the dawn.
And in a flute, the magic horn, a tune so passionate and strong
She played for them an orca song to ask them where they all have gone.” – NW Trolls
Because of all the walkers, joggers, and bikers, the area was the busiest yet. But still, only a couple of groups were hanging around the troll, so it wasn’t a problem getting pictures.
It was an idyllic location as she was facing the Puget Sound and her back was to forested hill.
We hiked 0.5 miles back to the car for the final leg of our journey.
#5 Jakob Two Trees – Issaquah
Driving to Issaquah took about 45 minutes. There was some minor traffic getting off of the West Seattle bridge onto I-5, but it wasn’t too terrible. Once we were on I-90 it was smooth sailing.
Jakob Two Trees is located on the Rainier Trail. We parked at the Issaquah Community Center parking lot after Google told us to park in the next door high school that was fenced in 🙄. A pole of colored birdhouses in the community parking lot should have been our clue.
There were many people on the trail as we walked the paved path for 0.25-miles to Jakob.
Here is where we ran into a crowd of observers. We had to stand in line and wait our turn to get pictures with the last troll.
I liked how his fingers were wrapped around two living trees. And his necklace was a row of birdhouses.
“A hundred circle suns not old, cause time will stretch and loop and fold.
So stop breathe in – breathe out, behold
The trees has sung the story told.” – NW Trolls
And that was it! We walked back to the car, completing the PNW troll trek!
3:30pm – End
Total Troll Trekking Time: 8hrs
Want help with your own Troll Trekking Itinerary?
I can help you with that here ➡️
Notes For Future Northwest Troll Hunters
I had such a fun time planning out ferry schedules and driving times then putting them into action to see if we could actually pull off seeing all five trolls in one day.
These are some retrospective thoughts I have for future PNW troll trekkers.
Keep in Mind the Time of Year
We did this a couple of days before Daylight Savings in November. If we had waited an extra week we might not have been able to see them all before it got dark, especially if we had missed a ferry.
In the summer time, you’ll won’t have daylight problems as you won’t be racing against the sun.
Keep in Mind the Day of the Week
We did this on a Friday, which is a day kids get out of school early and I’m guessing parents tend to work from home more.
I didn’t think the traffic was as bad as it normally can be on a weekday, compared to when I used to work in Seattle.
Thankfully, timing and traffic worked in our favor but I was completely preparing myself for traffic delays.
Keep in Mind Ferry Delays
Washington ferries are notorious for being unreliable.
With staffing shortages and ferries constantly breaking down it’s not uncommon for routes to get canceled or delayed last minute leaving you SOL.
Again, thankfully the ferry routes stayed on time. If the downtown Seattle ferry had been even just a couple of minutes later we would have missed the Fauntleroy ferry.
I Don’t Recommend Seeing all the PNW Trolls in One Day
Unless you want the bragging rights, which are fun, I honestly don’t recommend seeing all the Washington Northwest trolls in one day.
It was a shame to take the ferries to Bainbridge Island and Vashon Island and not have time to fully enjoy the area. I would’ve like to check out the boutique shops, wineries, beaches, and parks but there was absolutely no time for it all.
Two days would be a more reasonable way of doing this troll themed itinerary, with one island on each day and the mainland trolls split between the two days.
Want to see all the trolls in one day too?
🗺️ My Troll Trekking Planner takes the guesswork out of putting your trip together.
>> Check out other Washington Adventures to be had here! <<
About the Northwest Trolls
Danish environmental artist Thomas Dambo is the mastermind behind the Northwest Trolls, an ambitious public art project presented by Scan Design Foundation.
The project includes six monumental troll sculptures handcrafted by Dambo, each with a unique story fusing together both Coast Salish tribal cultural heritage and Scandinavian traditions.
The trolls, made from recycled and reclaimed wood, are not just pieces of art, but they are also a statement on environmental sustainability.
Dambo has ingeniously breathed life into unwanted materials, turning trash into beautiful creations that both inspire and educate.
These trolls stand tall in different locations across the Northwest, 5 in the Seattle area and 1 in Portland, inviting locals and tourists alike to interact with them, capture their charm, and appreciate the power of recycling.
You might also like:
• Finding Christmas in Leavenworth
• Taking a wine tour in Snohomish
• All things chocolate in Seattle
Are The Thomas Dambo Washington Trolls Worth It?
In short, the Northwest troll hunting was a blast!
Meeting these quirky PNW trolls, enjoying scenic ferry rides, and eating a delicious lunch made for a memorable day of adventure.
While tackling all five Washington trolls in the Seattle area in a single day was a fun challenge, I would encourage future troll hunters to spread the road trip over two days so you can enjoy each area more.
Regardless, troll hunting is a unique way to enjoy the Pacific Northwest and enjoy the hidden treasures in its parks and neighborhoods.
