About Tommy Turtle
A giant turtle would already qualify as a roadside oddity. Bottineau improved the idea by putting its turtle on a snowmobile.
Tommy Turtle stands roughly thirty feet high at Tommy Turtle Park, gripping the handlebars of a snowmobile about 34 feet long. The combination celebrates the Turtle Mountains and the region’s enthusiasm for snowmobiling in a single sculpture that looks like the mascot for a winter sport invented by reptiles.
The scale is what pushes Tommy beyond an ordinary mascot statue. The turtle towers above visitors, while the snowmobile underneath him is itself larger than many roadside attractions. Together they form a single mechanical-animal hybrid that makes complete visual sense only after accepting the premise that a turtle might need high-speed winter transportation.
Tommy Turtle Park surrounds the landmark with recreational facilities, making the statue easy to visit from a public setting. Park conditions and seasonal services can change, so travelers should check local information if they need more than a photograph with an enormous snowmobiling turtle.