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Tucked into the forest a few minutes from downtown, a 15-foot troll built entirely from scrap wood watches over a quiet Breckenridge trail. Isak Heartstone is one of the most-searched attractions in town, and finding him is an easy, flat walk that works for nearly anyone — no hiking experience required. Here’s exactly where he is and how to get there.
Who Is Isak Heartstone?
Isak Heartstone was built in 2018 by Danish artist Thomas Dambo for that year’s Breckenridge International Festival of Arts. He gets his name from a group of local girls who brought Dambo a heart-shaped stone from a nearby quarry; Dambo built a small platform for it inside the troll’s chest and named him accordingly. Dambo is known worldwide for building giant recycled-wood trolls as a statement on upcycling and waste — Isak is one of dozens he’s installed across the globe. The sculpture was meant to be temporary, but photos of it spread fast online, and visitor traffic to the original site became enough of a problem for nearby residents that the town considered dismantling it entirely. Dambo pushed back, and in 2019 Isak was relocated to his current, more sustainable home on the Trollstigen Trail — a compromise that let the troll stay while spreading out foot traffic.
How to Get to the Breckenridge Troll (Trollstigen Trail)
The trailhead is the Illinois Creek Trailhead, in the southeast corner of the Stephen C. West Ice Arena parking lot — a 5-minute drive, 10-minute bike ride, or 15-minute walk from the Breckenridge Welcome Center on Main Street. The free town bus also stops nearby.
From the trailhead, it’s about 400 feet — roughly 5 minutes — to reach Isak. The full round trip is under a mile and takes most people 10 to 15 minutes at an easy pace. The Trollstigen Trail was upgraded to an accessible surface in 2024: firm and compacted, 48 inches wide, with a maximum grade of 3% and two rest areas along the way. It’s one of the few Breckenridge-area trails that genuinely works for strollers and wheelchairs.
What to Know Before You Go
The trail is open 24/7, year-round, and there’s no fee to visit. There’s no parking directly at the trailhead — park in the free Ice Arena lot instead, since nearby town and county roads enforce no-parking zones with real tickets. The Trollstigen Trail isn’t maintained through winter, so conditions can be icy or snow-covered outside the summer season. If you want a quieter visit without crowds, go before 10am or after 5pm.
Nearby Trails & Things to Do
The Illinois Creek Trailhead sits next to the Illinois Gulch Trailhead, so it’s easy to extend the outing into a longer loop if you want more than a troll photo. For a full breakdown of easy, moderate, and strenuous options around town, see our Best Hikes in Breckenridge guide.