Public Art and Giant Trolls Await in Jackson, Wyoming

Your mind may jump to skiing and hiking as soon as you hear Jackson, Wyoming, but this quirky, vibrant mountain town in the Jackson Hole Valley is also a great place for family travelers to view public art.

Here’s a sampling of the many pieces on view:

Begin your artsy expedition at Center for the Arts, where Patrick Dougherty’s Finders Keepers rises from the landscape. This collection of ethereal, large-scale teepee-like sculptures is composed of willow saplings, and illustrates Dougherty’s fame as an American environmental artist.

© Sam Pope

At Rendezvous Park, Danish recycling artist Thomas Dambo created an enormous, magical troll that rests on a sloping bank above a pond, with one extended leg forming a bridge. The troll, called Mama Mimi, took years to complete, and is part of the artist’s global collection of troll figures and his fairytale The Great Story of the Little People. See troll map here.

Walk to the Town of Jackson’s Pump House, located next to ArtSpot, to admire Ben Roth’s Watch for Deer sculpture. At North Highway 89 Pathway Underpass at National Museum of Wildlife Art, Don Rambadt’s Sky Play welcomes museum visitors. This three-dimensional sculpture, fashioned from carbon steel plate, shows five young ravens engaged in play with a stick, highlighting this bird species’ propensity for keeping favorite toys and their intelligent use of found objects as tools.

While you’re out and about, keep an eye out for the town’s collection of large-scale murals, including Wheel of Time by artist Jeremy Collins, which can be seen on the exterior of The Hub Bicycles shop at 410 W. Pearl Ave.; and the time in place by artist Katy Ann Fox at Trio Bistro. To see a map of public art offerings, visit the town’s Wild Walls website.