Rita the Rock Planter

Rita the Rock Planter is another massive troll sculpture in Victor, Colorado, completed on August 3, 2023 and designed by sculptor Thomas Dambo. More than 100 volunteers helped construct Rita out of 100% recycled wood.

Dambo has has created 119 troll sculptures in 17 countries throughout the world, 32 of them in the United States. He has a goal of building 1,000 trolls throughout the world. His first sculpture in Colorado is Isak Heartstone in Breckenridge, Colorado, with Rita the Rock Planter being the second of his trolls in Colorado.

Thomas’ vision for Rita the Rock Planter is she is filling the holes left the miners from long ago with an emphasis on bringing back the land to its natural state.

Rita resides on Little Grouse Mountain just outside Victor, Colorado, just south of Cripple Creek, Colorado. You can visit Rita the Rock Planter from the following ways:

• From either of two parking lots:
  • a longer 0.8-mile uphill hike from the lower parking lot, offering panoramic views of the Sangre De Christo Mountain range
  • or a shorter 0.2-mile downhill hike from the upper parking lot. The Little Grouse Mountain Trail is a 1.9-mile loop, with varying terrain.
• You can hike to Rita from Victor via the Birdhouse Trail near the Victor Visitor Center and Wallace Park. Just follow the birdhouses.

“A hundred suns is how long a nap takes for the trolls.
When Rita woke again, her mountainside was full of holes
The humans must have dug them in their search for shiny rock
But someone could fall in, so Rita went to tidy up.”

If you are staying in our Pikes Peak Guest Cabin at Rocky Mountain Lodge you can visit Rita the Rock Climber in less than an hour.

And while you’re in Cripple Creek, visit the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine where you can descend 1,000 feet into the mine and experience what it was like for miners during the gold rush days.

Check our availability calendar and make your plans to visit Rita the Rock Planter.