Entry No. 3 — the Wichita file — filed under: outdoor
The Wichita Troll
“Most people walk right over it.”
A 7-foot, 200-pound bronze troll with greenish skin, big ears, wood-plank shoes and a patchwork outfit crouches in the dark beneath an unassuming storm grate on the east bank of the Arkansas River. Installed in 2007 by local artist Connie Ernatt with no formal signage pointing to it, the mystery is the point. Most people walk right over it.
The move: Go troll-hunting after dusk: find the grate on the upper river path (he's looking up at the purple martin house), peer down through the bars with a phone flashlight, then walk down to the lower path by the water for a closer, eerier look together.
📍 Before you go Look for the troll on the east riverbank near the Keeper of the Plains, along the walking path behind the old Westar power plant building off West Central Avenue; park in the lot behind that building and bear right to pick up the path and spot the big sidewalk grate. He shows two ways: from above through that grate on the upper path, and from the side through a wall grate on the lower path by the water, so bring a phone or pocket flashlight either way. Daytime is easiest for footing; dusk is eerier. Pair it with the Keeper of the Plains just upstream, whose fire pots light nightly, weather permitting.
- 📍 Riverside (Arkansas River east bank, near Veterans Memorial Park)
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Atlas Obscura · kmuw.org
last checked: 2026-06-06