Dambo Trolls, North Carolina Arboretum

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
11/13/2025	3 miles	2 hours 21 minutes	188'	n/a	333.2

Parking: 

• NC Arboretum, $20 fee unless you are a member

Map:

• Gaia GPS app

Directions:

• Misc trails

Glen, Krumm, and I went to the arboretum today to look for Dambo trolls. The exhibit officially opens on Saturday, but most of the trolls are out and ready! Winter lights start at the arboretum this weekend too, so we got a mini preview. I love seeing the winter lights there, and it's fun to see new designs. 6 of the 12 trolls will be visible during winter lights evenings. 

We had no map of where the trolls were (later on we found a map that showed the 6 you can see during winter lights), so we wandered around troll hunting. These are mini trolls, but still big. The exhibit is fabulous! We loved it so much. Thomas Dambo is an environmentalist, so there are environmental messages next to each troll. My sketching group is heading out to sketch the trolls on Sunday. I'm sooo excited!

#139 "Lilnut"

#137 "Boge"

#?

#138 Bignut

#140 "Valle"

#148 "Taks"

#143 Larke (left of visitor center)

#146 "Anja" (near the pond)

And now...for a swimming break.

Heading down the Natural Garden Trail

#142 Poppy (Natural Garden Trail)

#?

#141 Hasse (butterfly garden)

Found this map later. It shows the 6 trolls visible at winter lights. 
Also available online under the winter lights event.

#144 "Wilde", which I refer to as the Urban Sketching Troll!

Common winterberry and deodar cedar (I would love to have these in my yard!)

Craggy Flats

Date	Distance	Time	Elevation Gain	Average Moving Time	Year to Date Miles
11/5/2025	0.9 miles	2 hours 11 minutes	220'	n/a	330.2

Parking: 

• Craggy Gardens Visitor Center

Map:

• Gaia GPS app

Directions:

• Take the trail on the left side of the parking lot. Pass through the pavilion and turn left. Hike into the meadow and continue to a spot with 2 benches. This is not the place to watch the sunset. Turn around and head back to the meadow for the sunset. Return to the parking area.

We've been trying to catch a sunset in the Craggy Gardens area since the parkway reopened. The area is often in clouds, so it can be tricky. Today was the day! Sunny skies and 70 degrees in Asheville. As we drove up the parkway, we were not in the clouds! We hiked to Craggy Flats and it was early for the sunset, so we continued on to the view with the 2 benches. We turned back and settled in at the meadow, under the tree with a bench. We scored prime seating! We threw a "vet-approved" toy for Krumm. Last time we were here and threw sticks, well, we ended up spending a night at the ER because a stick punctured the back of his throat. What a magical way to spend the evening. It's been a rough week for me, so this was just the way to recharge my batteries.

Trailhead

Vet approved toy ;)

We had a Beaver moon / supermoon tonight. Hard to capture, as the sky looks lighter than it was.

Back at the trailhead