GERMFASK, MI – It turns out there is a troll that lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, after all.

“Benny the Beard Fisher” is a new art installation on the banks of the Manistique River at Northland Outfitters in Germfask. He is a troll character in a coming children’s book by Danish artist Thomas Dambo – and the latest up north attraction to open to the public.

The 14-foot-tall wooden troll is already delighting visitors.

Kim Bayer of Ann Arbor snapped photos of the sculpture on Thursday, Aug. 17, as her partner Glen Greenlee stood nearby. She said she follows the recycled-materials artist on Instagram and wanted to see his new sculpture in Michigan.

“We’re camping up here and just seemed like a good day to come over,” Kim Bayer said, while a handful of other visitors walked past.

Campground and livery owners Levi and Durea Brady said they purchased the business last year and initially planned to rent out snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles. Realizing the liability risk of that element, they changed their business plan to instead pay for the popular artist to create a troll installation at Northland Outfitters.

“He wanted it next to the river to go with the story,” Levi Brady said.

Dambo is on an ongoing trip across the United States, building a series of large troll sculptures. He traveled to Colorado and Portland after Michigan.

Northland Outfitters will offer the coming children’s book for sale in their gift shop when it publishes. They already have an idea of the storyline – and it is a slightly dark narrative.

“It’s the story of a troll that travels from Denmark, and it’s about water conservation,” Durea Brady said. “Benny is a character in the book. There are a couple bad trolls but Benny’s a good one.”

The giant troll sculpture is made from leftover cedar plank pieces from a nearby Amish lumber mill, as well as branches and saplings collected from the local landscape.

Levi Brady said in the few weeks since the sculpture was completed, it’s already proven popular with visitors on both land and water. Many paddlers on the Manistique River float around the bend and find the troll sculpture quite surprising, he said.

“The kids lose their frickin’ minds, so I want to get a reaction video on the backside of the tree right here because if they don’t know about it, they scream and laugh,” Levi Brady said.

And floating past the troll is a fun experience, he said.

“I had to go clear the river, and we came by, and I got to see him and yeah, his eyes like follow you as you are drifting by him.”

Michigan state environmental regulators granted the business a permit to construct the troll sculpture alongside the river. Levi Brady said it seemed helpful the part of the troll designed to hang over the wetland is made of natural materials.

The couple said they are creating a parking lot and gift shop alongside state highway M-77, along with a wooden boardwalk leading to the troll sculpture. That coming feature is meant to minimize vehicle traffic inside the existing campground and livery parking lot.

Northland Outfitters is at 8174 M-77 in Germfask, not far from Seney National Wildlife Refuge. More information can be found at www.northlandoutfittersup.com or by calling 906-586-9801.

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