The Trail of the Whispering Giants is a collection of sculptures by American artist Peter Wolf Toth. The sculptures range in height from , and are between in diameter. In 2009, there were 74 Whispering Giants, with at least one in each of the 50 U.S. states, as well as in Ontario and Manitoba, Canada,Trail Leads to Ladysmith Ladysmith Chronicle, September 14, 2009. Accessed October 10, 2009 and one in Hungary. One in Oregon was removed in 2017 after irreparable windstorm damage, reducing the total to 73. In 1988, Toth completed his goal of placing at least one statue in each of the 50 states, by carving one in Hawaii, and in 2008, he created his first Whispering Giant in Europe, Stephen I of Hungary in Délegyháza,Peter Wolf Toth: Sculptures Honor Native Americans, a December 31, 2008 article from Magyar News Online Hungary along the Danube River.

In 2009, eight more Whispering Giants were planned.Tree trunk to become Tecumseh monument arrives in Vincennes Thursday, Courierpress.com. September 30, 2009. Accessed September 30, 2009

The sculptures

The 74 Whispering Giants range from in height, and all resemble natives of the region in which they are located. Toth always donates the Whispering Giant he creates to the town he carved it in, and never charges a fee for his time. He does require that the raw materials (a large log between in diameter) be provided, as well as lodging and living expenses. The carvings have been appraised at a quarter of a million dollars each.

Toth uses a hammer and a chisel as the basic tools to create the Whispering Giants, but on occasion will use a mallet and an axe, or rarely power tools.Stoical 25-year-old reminder of the honor due first peoples, The Boston Globe. August 24, 2008. Accessed December 6, 2009. Before starting work on a Whispering Giant, Toth confers with local Native American tribes and local lawmakers. The sculpture that is created is a composite of all the physical characteristics, especially facial features, of the local tribe or tribes, as well as their stories and histories. Toth dismisses the notion that the Whispering Giant sculptures are totem poles or represent Native American art, and has further stated that it would be inappropriate to carve totems because they were traditionally carved by Northwestern Indian tribes and had religious significance, where his carvings are intended as sculptures of Native American people.

Currently Peter Toth resides in Edgewater, Florida, where he has a small studio where he carves small wooden statues to raise money to create more Whispering Giants. He travels around America to repair Whispering Giants he carved in the past that have not been kept up, as well as to carve new ones. The latest Whispering Giant carved was in Vincennes, Indiana, in 2009 out of Black Oak, but there are still eight more statues planned to be built.

The Trail # Date Location State/Province MediumApprox. Height Picture/Name Background Status1Toth p.551972, FebruaryLa JollaCaliforniaRockbeach cliffLost2Toth p.591972, SummerAkronOhioMaple3Toth p.68Sculptor casts a GIANT SHADOW.Orlando Sentinel. September 14, 2005. Accessed November 17, 20091973, JanuaryDeLandFloridaOak7 feetLost to rot4Toth p.70Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number GA0004461973, FebruaryColquittU.S. Highway 27GeorgiaRed Cedar18 feetReplaced with number 70. Reason for replacement unknown.5Toth p.73Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number AL0002641973, AprilDothan Houston-Love Memorial LibraryAlabamaOak20 feetMus-Quoian6Toth p.771973, JuneSharonPennsylvaniaElm20 feet7Toth p.82Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number NY0008731973, AugustDunkirk Route 5, Lake Shore Drive WestNew YorkElm7.5 feetRestored by the artist in 20148Toth p.87Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number WV0000411973, OctoberWheelingWest VirginiaElm14 feetKanououaraDestroyed by Dutch elm disease9Toth p.90Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number TN0002311973, DecemberCleveland Museum Center at 5ive Points TennesseeOak10 feetCherokee Chieftain10Toth p.95Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number 732615021974, JanuaryPunta Gorda A. C. Freeman House, 311 West Retta EsplanadeFloridaParota15 feetThe carving took three months to complete and originally resided in front of the Best Western hotel (previously the Holiday Inn) until Hurricane Charley in 2004 damaged the building. The only whispering giant to feature two faces, it features a Native American man and woman on either side of it, along with the dream of a dying bison upon its back next to an eagle with a broken wing emerging from atop the head, intended to symbolize the prejudice and injustice Native people have experienced.Restored by Toth in summer 2005, it was rededicated on 20 January 2006 with a time capsule buried within its base.11Toth p.1011974, OctoberVancouverWashingtonWhite Fir25 feet12Toth p.1071975, FebruaryNew OrleansLouisianaOak Restored 2010 and currently exhibited at the entry of Brechtel Park, 4401 Lennox Blvd, New Orleans, LA.13Toth p.112Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number AR0003441975, AprilLittle RockArkansasOak20 feet14Toth p.1181975, JuneFort WayneIndiana25 feetDestroyed by termites.15Toth p.123Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number 877300271975, AugustLansing Potter Park ZooMichiganElm29 feet 3 inchesRemoved in 2012.Farewell, Whispering Giant16Toth p.1291975, OctoberHopewell off IL-29 atop the hill going into HopewellIllinoisOak18 feet17Toth p.136Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number MS0000751975, DecemberOcean Springs Davidson ParkMississippiCypress27 feetCrooked FeatherDamaged by Hurricane Elena in 1985. Toth returned for repairs in 1987, before decay continued through the 1990s. Replica commissioned and completed by local sculptor Thomas King in 1999.18Toth p.1451976, MarchWilmington Greenfield ParkNorth CarolinaOak27 feetIn 1979, the statue was moved from Greenfield Park to a walking trail near the "Lion's Bridge". In 1986, it was moved again to Buckhead, NC. Replaced by Statue #71.19Toth p.150Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number VA0002011976, MayVirginia Beach Mount Trashmore City ParkVirginiaCypress24 feet20Toth p.1551976, JulyAtlantic CityNew JerseyTulip PoplarMissing (status unknown).21Toth p.159Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number MD0004321976, SeptemberOcean City South Second Street & Baltimore AvenueMarylandOak20 feet22Toth p.162Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number DE0000291976, DecemberBethany BeachDelawarepoplar27 feetChief Little OwlDestroyed by high winds in 1992; remains located at Indian Museum in Millsboro. Replaced in early 1990s, and again in 2002 with Statue #69.23Toth p.166Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number SC0002261977, FebruaryCharlestonSouth Carolina Charles Towne LandingDarlington Oak24 feetLanding BraveRestored by Toth in 2005.24Toth p.168Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number MO0000211977, MaySt. Louis Forest ParkMissouriOak19 feetStruck by lightning, may no longer exist25Toth p.172Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number MN0003421977, JulyTwo Harbors Information Center 8, Highway 61 EastMinnesotaPine30 feet26Toth p.177Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number WI0001161977, SeptemberHayward Carnegie LibraryWisconsinOak34 feetTribute to the Ojibwe27Toth p.1871977, NovemberDesert Hot SpringsCabot's Pueblo MuseumCaliforniaSequoia/Cedar28Toth p.1931978, JuneIowa FallsIowaCottonwood29Toth p.196Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number KS0004861978, SeptemberTroy Doniphan County CourthouseKansasBurr Oak27 feetRestored by Toth in 2010.30Toth p.2041979, MayBroken Bow

Beavers Bend State Park

Forest Heritage CenterOklahomaCypress31Toth p.205Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number CO0005121979, AugustLoveland 2033 Waterdale Drive, Rock Ridge RanchColoradoCottonwood37 feetRelocated to a private ranch on the northern side of US Route 34 (west of Loveland, CO) from its original location on the southern shore of Lake Loveland.32Toth p.206Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number MT0000241979, OctoberRed Lodge Red Lodge LibraryMontanaPonderosa Pine25 feet33Toth p.207Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number AZ000322Winslow Winslow Visitor CenterArizonaPonderosa Pine40 feet34Toth p.2081980, MayTexarkanaTexasRed Oak Missing (status unknown).35Toth p.214Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number NE0001581980, JulyLincoln Lincoln Indian CenterNebraskaCottonwood25 feetFallen giant has succumbed to birds, bugs, and weather. It has been destroyed. 36Toth p.215Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number WY0000531980, SeptemberWorland Washakie County CourthouseWyomingDouglas fir20 feet37Toth p.216Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number ID0000231980, NovemberIdaho Falls North Tourist Park, Lincoln Road and North Yellowstone HighwayIdahoDouglas Fir27 feet38Toth p.217Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number SD0000501981, JuneAberdeen Anderson ParkSouth DakotaCottonwood25 feetMoved indoors for repair; viewable by appointment.39Toth p.218Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number ND0000401981, AugustMandan Stage Stop, 601 6th Avenue SoutheastNorth DakotaCottonwood25 feet (original); approx. 20 feet (damaged)Struck and damaged by a car in 2013; majority of headdress fell off in a storm in 2020.40Toth p.219Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number AK0002011981, OctoberValdez Prince William Sound CollegeAlaskaSitka spruce30 feet41Toth p.223Peter Toth's Indian Sculpture Meets a Watery Grave Here, The Ogden Reporter. November 3, 1993. Accessed September 30, 2009.1982, MayOsceolaIowaCottonwoodDestroyed in 1993 by winds and flood; replacement created by Jesse Kuhs.42Toth p.224Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number RI00007924 July 1982Narragansett Sprague Memorial ParkRhode IslandDouglas fir20 feet43Toth p.2271982, OctoberGrotonConnecticutDouglas firIn storage.44Toth p.2281983, MayFt. Lauderdale D.C. Alexander Park, State Road A1AFloridaCypress30 feetOriginally constructed: Seminole Indian tribe trading post 45Toth p.231Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number 8774025124 July 1983Plymouth Tourist Information Center, Route 3, Exit 5MassachusettsRed Oak30 feet46Toth p.2321983, OctoberBar HarborMaineElmGlooscapGlooscap was relocated in May 2004 after a year restoration.47 Wills, Matt, Burlington, Vermont - Toth Indian - Chief Grey Lock. Roadside America. September 11, 2009. Accessed December 12, 2009Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number VT00003322 July 1984Burlington Battery ParkVermontRed Oak34 feetThe statue has undergone severe internal rot, but was LiDAR scanned on 23 August 2019 under guidance of a committee comprising the City of Burlington Department of Parks, Recreation and Waterfront; faculty members of the University of Vermont; a local non-profit "Branch Out Burlington"; and members of the Abenaki community.48Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number NH0002831984, SeptemberLaconia Opechee ParkNew HampshireRed Oak36 feetLost to rot, but the sculpture was 3D scanned in hopes of creating a synthetic replica. After receiving city approval, the 3D replica was constructed and the replica was installed at the same location in October 2024. 49Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number MA0000631984, NovemberSpringfield Forest ParkMassachusetts15 feet50Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number KY0002761985, MayPaducah Bob Noble ParkKentuckyRed Oak35 feetThe sculpture was restored during the summer of 2016.51Smithsonian Art Inventories Catalog Control Number OH0005791985, AugustAkron