Trolls draw crowds to Ninigret Park in R.I.

While friends and I were strolling through Ninigret Park in Charlestown, R.I., the other morning, a couple walking toward us with a baby carriage stopped, and I replied before they had a chance to ask their question.

“Keep going another couple hundred yards around the curve, and there’s a path on your right marked with a wooden stake and an orange ribbon,” I said.

“Thanks!” they replied, and hurried ahead.

I knew the answer because I had already given it to half a dozen other park visitors we encountered – ironic, since Maggie Jones, Phil Plouffe and I had to ask the same question a short time earlier when we arrived at the 227-acre park: “Where are the trolls?”

Not live ones, of course, but a pair of sensational, giant troll sculptures that are quickly becoming as popular as Taylor Swift. Crafted with recycled materials by renowned Danish artist and environmental activist Thomas Dambo, these whimsical and wildly creative creatures were commissioned as a promotion by the South County Tourism Council.

They are the first of what eventually will be several troll sculptures scattered in public areas throughout Rhode Island.

Over the past 23 years, Dambo has created 125 such trolls in 20 countries across five continents to draw attention to global pollution.

“Our world is drowning in trash while we are running out of natural resources. In 2011, I quit my job to become an artist and follow my mission to 'Waste no more,'” Dambo posts on his website, thomasdambo.com. He adds,

“Today, I spend my life showing the world that beautiful things can be made out of trash.”

The trolls are indeed beautiful, exhilarating and joyous. Toddlers, teens, young adults and senior citizens all had smiles on their faces while viewing the trolls and posing for pictures.

“Really amazing. Expert craftmanship,” Orion Burns, a retired master carpenter pronounced. He and his wife, Karen, drove to the park from New Britain, Connecticut, to take pictures to send to their granddaughter.

One of the Ninigret Park trolls, completed earlier this month with help from dozens of local volunteers, is in the open next to Little Nini Pond and easy to find. The other is more secluded, accessible via a narrow path through the woods. Have fun trying to find it; or do what every first-time troll-hunter does: Ask directions.

Ninigret Park, formerly the site of World War II-era Naval Auxiliary Air Station Charlestown, has become a popular recreation area that includes bike and hiking trails, a swimming pond, tennis and pickleball courts, and a nature center and observatory. It also hosts the Charlestown Seafood Festival, the Big Apple Circus and the Rhythm And Roots music festival.

The park is next door to 858-acre Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, also once part of the military base where young fighter pilots one trained – including George H.W. Bush, who became the 41st president.

After the base shut down, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acquired the property in 1970, and eventually established early successional habitat for several rare or endangered species by knocking down buildings and replacing pavement with native grasses, shrubs and trees.

The three of us began our troll tour at the refuge, which we have hiked previously and is always worth revisiting, particularly in spring.

During a five-mile hike through refuge trails, we spotted a number of avian species, including a brown thrasher, prairie, magnolia and yellow warblers, American redstart, and three woodcocks that Phil inadvertently flushed from grasses next to a trail.

“Wow!” Maggie exclaimed. Ninigret deserves its reputation as a birding hotspot, she said, noting that the refuge is a migratory stop for many neotropical birds in spring and fall.

Our hike to Grassy Point overlooking Ninigret Pond, and along Foster Cove, was icing on the cake after checking out the trolls.

It was particularly rewarding to see so many youngsters enjoying the art exhibit instead of playing video games or staring at computer screens, she said. Amen.

Ninigret Park, 30 miles east of New London, is located at 5 Park Lane in Charlestown, just off Route 1. It opens daily at 8.m. Information: 401-364-1222.