An Art Adventure Through Otter Tail County

There are road trips, and then there are road trips where the landmarks are 40-foot otters, 20-foot turkeys, scrap-metal tractors, giant loons, and a prairie chicken that weighs as much as a small elephant.

That is the charm of the Giants of Otter Tail County tour.

The new campaign invites visitors to explore Minnesota's Lakes Country by tracking down a collection of larger-than-life sculptures spread across the county. It is part scavenger hunt, part small-town tour, and part reminder that some of the best travel memories happen when you pull over for something unexpected.

Otter Tail County is already known for its lakes — 1,048 of them, to be exact — but the Giants tour gives travelers a different kind of reason to wander. Instead of heading to just one destination, the experience encourages people to move from town to town, stopping for photos, food, shopping, parks, and whatever else they find along the way.

The giants themselves are wonderfully different from one another. In Fergus Falls, Otto the Otter stretches 40 feet long in Grotto Park. Built in 1972 by Fergus Falls high school students under the direction of Steve Jaenisch, Otto was created to commemorate the city's centennial and has since become one of the area's most recognizable landmarks.

In Rothsay, the Prairie Chicken stands as a concrete tribute to the town's identity as the Prairie Chicken Capital of Minnesota. Built in 1976 for the U.S. Bicentennial, the statue is 13 feet tall, 18 feet long, and weighs 9,000 pounds.

Pelican Rapids has its own towering bird in Pelican Pete, a 15-foot pelican created in the 1950s through a community effort led by the Pelican Rapids Chamber of Commerce. Vergas is home to a 20-foot loon overlooking Long Lake. Frazee has Tom the Turkey, a 20-foot-tall roadside favorite installed in its current location in 1998 after the original wooden statue was destroyed by fire.

The tour also includes several works that show off the region's creative side. New York Mills features a massive "Art Tractor" made by Ken Nyberg from more than 1,100 pieces of scrap iron. Nyberg's work also appears in Ottertail, where a scrap-steel otter greets visitors, and in Vining, where a giant watermelon pays tribute to the town's annual Watermelon Day.

In Battle Lake, Rusty the Fish brings another splash of character to the route. Created by artist Sue Seeger in 2015, the 15-foot fish was made from scrap metal with support from a Lake Region Arts Council grant. Ashby rounds out the tour with its giant coot, built in 1991 by Steve Morgan for the Ashby Coot Feed.

What makes the tour work is not just the size of the sculptures. It is the way each one points back to the place that built it. Some celebrate mascots. Some honor local traditions. Some came from artists working with scrap metal. Others were born from school projects, civic pride, or community celebrations.

Together, they create a loose, playful map of Otter Tail County.

The experience is also intentionally simple. Visitors can print a Giants card or pick one up at participating locations around the county, then start checking off stops. The official campaign encourages travelers to visit at least five giants, making the tour easy to build into a weekend getaway, a day trip, or a summer challenge with kids.

And that may be the real appeal. The Giants of Otter Tail County tour is not about rushing from one stop to the next. It is about giving yourself a reason to take the scenic route. It is about visiting towns you might otherwise drive past. It is about finding a good lunch spot, walking through a park, stopping at a local shop, and taking the kind of photo that will probably make someone ask, "Where was that?"

In a county filled with lakes, trails, small towns, and summer traditions, the giants add one more layer of fun. (Visit Otter Tail County) They are quirky, local, and proudly oversized.

They also prove that sometimes the best way to explore a place is to look for the biggest thing in town.

See the full list and map at The Giants page

Otto the Otter — Fergus Falls
Prairie Chicken — Rothsay
Pelican Pete — Pelican Rapids
Big Loon — Vergas
Tom the Turkey — Frazee
Art Tractor — New York Mills
Big Otter — Ottertail
Watermelon — Vining
Rusty the Fish — Battle Lake
Big Coot — Ashby

Start Your Giant Journey

Snap a photo with a Giant-sized smile. Share and tag #findyourinnerotter. Check off the Giants you visit on the card.

For the full route and printable card, visit ottertaillakescountry.com/giants.

Drop Off Your Card to Win

Visit at least 5 of the Giants and bring the card to one of the drop-off locations by Aug. 31, 2026, to receive: free Otter Ears, one free adult admission to Otter Cove Children's Museum, and one entry in the Grand Prize Drawing.

Card Drop-Off Locations

Otter Cove Children's Museum, Fergus Falls (see the Giants of Otter Tail County interactive exhibit)
Ben's Bait, Battle Lake
Strand Ace Hardware, Pelican Rapids
Billy's Corner Bar & Grill, Vergas
Thumper Pond, Ottertail