World's Largest Otter

Otto is a large concrete otter, reclining in a friendly pose beside the river, and he serves as the unofficial mascot of Fergus Falls. The town lies in Otter Tail County, named for the otters and the otter-tail-shaped lake of the region, so a giant otter was a natural choice of civic symbol, celebrating the water-loving animal that has always been part of this landscape.

The statue stands in a riverside park in the middle of town, where the Otter Tail River runs through the historic downtown. Fergus Falls has long taken pride in Otto, and he has become a genuine landmark, the kind of local icon that residents point to with affection and that gives visitors an instant sense of the town's easygoing character.

Otto belongs to a great Minnesota tradition of oversized roadside statues, the giant creatures and folk-hero figures that towns built to give travelers a reason to stop. The state is famous for them, from enormous fish and fowl to lumberjack legends, each a source of local pride and a bit of highway whimsy, and Otto holds his own proud place among them.

These giants grew up along the American road in the age of the automobile, when a memorable landmark could draw a family car off the highway for a picnic and a photograph. They endure because they are fun and unpretentious, small-town self-expression writ large, and Fergus Falls has kept Otto in good repair as one of the friendliest of the bunch.

Fergus Falls sits on the Otter Tail River, whose falls once powered the mills that built the town, and the whole region is defined by water. West-central Minnesota is a landscape of hundreds of lakes and winding rivers, prime country for fishing, boating, and lakeside cabins, and Otter Tail County is one of the most lake-studded in a state famous for them.

This is Dakota and Ojibwe homeland, part of the wider Mni Sota Makoce, the land from which Minnesota takes its name, where the Dakota and Ojibwe have long lived across the prairie edge and the lake country. The rich waterways that Otto celebrates have shaped human life here for far longer than the town, and they remain the real heart of a visit to the region.

Fergus Falls is a county-seat town with a handsome historic downtown, riverside parks, and a couple of other quirky landmarks worth seeking out on a stroll. It makes an easy break on the interstate that runs across the state, and Otto gives travelers a reason to pause and stretch their legs in a pleasant, walkable setting.

Beyond the town, the surrounding lakes country rewards a longer stay, especially in summer when the lakes come alive and in fall when the prairie and woodland turn color. A stop to see Otto pairs naturally with a drive out to the lakes, the prairie preserves, and the small towns that dot this welcoming corner of Minnesota.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.