Going On A Troll Hunt At The Morton Arboretum, Lisle IL

Six trolls. One troll hideout. Only two hours to find them all.

Shae’s mom and stepdad came to visit us while we were staying in Naperville, Illinois. For part of her mom’s birthday, we took her to The Morton Arboretum in nearby Lisle.

One of the exhibitions when we visited was Troll Hunt, a collection of six huge trolls and a secret hideout, all hidden around the grounds of The Morton Arboretum. Created by a Danish artist called Thomas Dambo, they set up their home among the trees in the spring of 2018.

We didn’t get to the arboretum until about 6pm which meant we only had about two hours to go on a troll hunt. Thankfully the visitor center gave us a map and marked the locations of all six trolls and their hideout on it. This was cheating a little – you’ll see why later on – but without the locations marked on the map it’s doubtful we’d have had time to find them all before The Morton Arboretum closed, so we were grateful to have it.

With map in hand, off we went on a troll hunt.

Troll 1 – Rocky Bardur

We found the first troll easily as he was hiding in plain view at the end of the parking lot near the visitor center. Named Rocky Bardur, he was doing his best Donkey Kong impression but with boulders rather than barrels.

We decided to try to appease the trolls as we went around by emulating their facial expressions or stances. Some of our attempts were more successful than others.

Each of the trolls had a sign next to them with a clue as to the location of the troll hideout. When looking at a map, the six emphasized words will help identify where you can find their hideout.

Troll 2 – Sneaky Socks Alexa

The trolls are spread out over several miles of the arboretum. In theory you could walk to all of them, but we decided to drive as we didn’t have much time, plus it was a hot and humid summer evening.

The second troll we came across was Sneaky Socks Alexa. She was indeed sneaky as she tried to catch us in her trap.

Thankfully we escaped her clutches and managed to sneak up on her for a selfie.

She also had a clue to the location of the troll hideout.

Troll 3 – Joe The Guardian

My favorite of the six trolls was the one we discovered next – Joe The Guardian.

It was a bit of a walk to find Joe from the closest parking area, but he was worth the wait. All the trolls – but this one in particular – reminded me of the book illustrations of the man-eating giants from Roald Dahl’s The BFG.

Joe The Guardian stands atop a hill overlooking I-88. You can therefore see Joe when driving past The Morton Arboretum, so we always waved to him whenever we drove by after our visit.

Troll 4 – Furry Ema

The fourth troll was less sneaky than Sneaky Socks Alexa when it came to trying to trap humans. Rather than hiding with her trap from a distance, Furry Ema was content just sitting there with her net.

As with the other trolls, Furry Ema had a sign with a clue to their hideout.

Troll 5 – Niels Bragger

While hunting for the fifth troll, we came across a deer that was ambling perilously close to Niels Bragger. For some reason, she seemed more nervous of us than the troll though..

If she’d gotten any closer, Niels could’ve clubbed her over the head.

The trolls are actually extremely well-made sculptures that were much bigger than we’d initially expected.

If you go on this troll hunt, don’t forget to make a note of the fifth clue.

Troll 6 – Little Arturs

Last but not least, we found the lengthy sixth troll – Little Arturs.

Despite how hungry he looked, we got closer to Little Arturs for a selfie.

That proved to be a mistake as Shae and I were soon to find out.

n.b. All the trolls had signs asking you not to climb on them, but there was a sign by Little Arturs saying that you were allowed into his mouth. Presumably because of how hungry he is.

With this being the final troll, it’s also your final opportunity to get a clue as to the location of their hideout.

Troll Hideout

Like I mentioned earlier, the person we spoke to in the visitor center had marked the locations of all the trolls and the troll hideout on our map.

If you want more of a challenge, the clues from the six trolls should help you locate the general vicinity of the troll hideout. Don’t give up if you can’t find it at first as it’s worth the wait.

In addition to their shelter, the hideout had all of the trolls’ belongings including tools, spoons, toothbrushes and more.

We clearly weren’t paying enough attention to our surroundings, as one of the trolls (maybe Sneaky Socks Alexa???) sneaked up and trapped the four of us in their cage.

Shortly after that we were transferred over into their cooking pot – we were about to become soup.

We got lucky though. While the troll went off to find their troll-sized matchbook in order to light the fire, we managed to climb out of the pot and made our escape.

Troll Hunt: A Fairy Tale

At the troll hideout is a sign with a story written by Thomas Dambo, the creator of the trolls.

If the writing is too small for you to read, here’s the story:

Once upon a rhyme in the dawn of time
On the very first day the sun began to shine
There was a planet so small with a sky so big
In a forest so thick – an acorn fell to the ground and split

And right then from the tiny, tiny acorn
Two enormous forest trolls were born
The two became many, many became a million
Because trolls love life and they love to have children

They lived in harmony with both birds and bees
There was peace and they never ever hurt the trees
They took care of them all – no soul too tiny
Cedar, birch, ash, elm, oak and pine tree

Then a million, million years went by
And from far away something appeared in the sky
And out came a strange looking alien race
Only 5 feet tall with small eyes in their face

The trolls greeted them welcome to share the lands
And taught them the balance of beings and plants
But at some point in time – no one really knows when
It was like the small aliens forgot it again

They started building a city, all over around them
As big as an ocean and tall as a mountain
There were flat roads of stone where the grass used to grow
And at night false stars would now light up and glow

There were “horses” on wheels that made noise and smelled bad
And smoke blocking the sun. All this made the trolls sad
Because in a place with no sun, no flowers have colors
No birds can sing songs and no trolls can live

Now the trolls started walking toward new lands
To make a new home with balance of beings and plants
And they found a beautiful forest, maybe the last of its kind
Where the birds could still sing and the sun could still shine

But what happened before couldn’t happen again
So they told this here story again and again
If you love the forest, the trolls will protect you
If not they will grab you, catch you, and trap you

Final Thoughts

We had a fantastic time going on a troll hunt at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. The troll sculptures are enormous and are incredible works of art. Our only regret is visiting so late in the day as it looked like there was so much else to see at the arboretum.

If you’ll be in the Chicago area while the Troll Hunt exhibition is at The Morton Arboretum, we highly recommend checking it out.

And if you’re near Louisville, Kentucky, be sure to visit Bernheim Forest where Thomas Dambo has also created Forest Giants In A Giant Forest.

Address

The Morton Arboretum, 4100 IL-53, Lisle, IL 60532