Geocaching is the world's largest treasure-hunting game. Over 3 million cleverly hidden containers called geocaches are hidden all over the world just waiting to be found.

Unlike traditional geocaches, Virtual Caches do not have a physical container. Instead, they focus on the discovery of a location – in this case, the Trolls in DL.

To claim the “find,” players attach a photo of themselves or a personal item with the troll to their digital log in-app or on Geocaching.com.

Click here to learn about different types of geocaches.

Trolls in DL is a public art exhibit presented by Project 412, a nonprofit based in Detroit Lakes. Project 412 is named with a nod to the 412 lakes within 25 miles of Detroit Lakes and has the goal of elevating the cultural and economic vibrancy of the beautiful region.

The giant art project includes six sites in the Detroit Lakes and Frazee area plus three “portals” cleverly hidden in Fargo, Detroit Lakes, and Perham.

The DL Trolls are part of Thomas Dambo’s global Troll installation that now exceeds 130 sites across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the United States.

Thanks to funding partners, there is no admission fee to visit the trolls.

Learn more about Trolls in DL

The Trolls arrived in Detroit Lakes in early June 2024. Trolls in DL is a permanent installation.

While the Trolls are made of recycled materials, Project 412 plans to care and maintain them long-term.

Each troll is made of recycled materials including a combination of structured wood, used pallets, and found decorations including tree branches, stones and other organic material. Much of the wood cam from trees/lumber rescued from the Highway 34 road construction project plus pallets, scrap pieces, donated wood, and other materials from local businesses and individuals.

Of special note, the head, hands, and feet of each troll were built by the Dambo team in Denmark. The bodies of the Trolls were built by 100s of volunteers working side-by-side with the Dambo crew.