Stardew Valley is a game that loves its secrets. From Easter eggs to other games, hidden lore, and secret items to unlockable areas and hidden paths, there's so much to discover and explore in Stardew Valley.

While exploring the map and overturning every trash lid in sight can be an exciting and rewarding experience, it isn't always easy to uncover all of Pelican Town's secrets. To help you on your sleuthing adventure, we donned our Sherlock Holmes hats and took a magnifying glass to the map to bring you every hidden path and trail you can travel on your journey.

Tips For Finding Hidden Paths

Before we dive into Stardew's hidden paths, let's dig into some simple tricks to help you discover new paths on your own.

One way to check what areas may be accessible is to look for large logs, stumps, and rock clusters . Oftentimes, unlockable areas are guarded by a difficult-to-destroy structure. To uncover these paths, you will need a Pickaxe or Axe of copper quality or greater.

Finally, for those of you who have purchased Robin's furniture catalog , you can buy a step stool and use it to get to hard-to-reach areas. This method doesn't unlock secret paths per se, but it does give you access to farmable land and shortcuts that would otherwise be inaccessible to you.

Try using the step-stool around the map to get to areas of higher elevation.

Pelican Town

Pelican Town doesn't hold many secret areas, but there are three hidden paths for you to explore.

Qi's Bus Tunnel Puzzle

While the Bus Stop isn't technically inside Pelican Town's borders, there is one secret path here that doesn't quite fit anywhere else.

If you walk up past the bus stop and follow the road left , you will find that you can enter the Bus Tunnel . Inside the Bus Tunnel is the start of Qi's questline .

If you want to meet Qi or unlock his casino in the desert then in the tunnel, interact with the electricity panel by inserting a battery to power it.

This will start Qi's quest.

The Alleyway Buffet

If you're aiming for full game completion , you will want to fill out your Special Items and Powers tab . The powers tab is where all special abilities and useful items will accumulate.

To get powers, you first need to acquire Books of Power . One of these Books of Power can be found on the hidden path by Clint's shop - the Alleyway Buffet.

To collect the Alleyway Buffet, head to the first tree above the minecart track. Enter the path where the tree overhangs the fence . From here, you will need to use a Copper Axe and Pickaxe (or a tool of better quality) to destroy the stumps, logs, and boulders on the path.

Once you've cleared the path and followed it to the end, you will find a trashcan hidden behind a tree. Opening the trashcan will reward you with the Alleyway Buffet, a magic book that increases the chance that you will find items in the trashcans that you search.

You have to interact with the book in your hot bar to add the power to your Powers tab.

A Hidden Present

In the same area as the Alleyway Buffet, you can also find a prize ticket hidden in a wrapped present. To find the prize ticket, head north from Clint's shop and Joja Mart to where the Book Seller sets up shop.

Using a Copper or better Axe , cut down the stump blocking the fenced area by the tree. Once inside, destroy the Fiber nodes until you can get behind the tree. Here, you will find a wrapped blue present. Opening the present will reward you with a prize ticket for Lewis's Prize Machine .

Cindersap Forest

Cindersap forest, like Pelican Town, doesn't have very many hidden paths. However, the two hidden areas you can uncover here are two of the most useful areas in the game.

The Secret Woods

Heading to the far northwestern corner of Cindersap Forest will bring you to a large log which blocks the path to the Secret Woods. You need a Copper or better quality Axe to destroy the log and gain entry to the Secret Woods.

Inside the Secret Woods, you can collect mushrooms and other forageables , kill Slimes, fish for Woodskip, and give a Sweet Gem Berry to the orangutan statue for a Star Drop . At one point, you will also find a sleeping bear. You can bring him the items he requests for rewards.

There is also a secondary hidden area in the Secret Woods. At the bottom of the Secret Woods , you will see several large stumps. To get to these stumps, line yourself up with the stump on the farthest left and head straight down. From here, you can enter the area where the stumps spawn.

The Secret Woods is a great place to harvest hardwood as the stumps respawn daily . You can also find Fiddlehead Fern here in the summertime.

The Sewer

Between Pelican Town and Cindersap Forest is the Sewer. You can find the entrance to the Sewer in both the southeastern corner of Cindersap Forest and by using the Manhole by Sam's house.

To unlock the Sewer, you need to have donated 60 items to the Museum's collection . After donating your 60th item, Gunther will reward you with a Rusty Key . Use this key to unlock the Sewer entrance in Cindersap Forest .

Inside the Sewer, you can meet and shop with Krobus, use the Statue of Uncertainty to change your profession, fish for the Mutant and Radioactive Carp , and enter the Mutant Bug Lair, where you can find the Dark Talisman . The Mutant Bug Lair will be opened by Krobus during the Dark Talisman quest .

You need to fish in the Mutant Bug Lair to catch the Slimejack.

Ginger Island

Ginger Island has the most hidden areas by far. You will uncover most of Ginger Island's secrets while on your hunt for the 130 Golden Walnuts scattered around the island.

The Gem Bird Puzzle

One of the first secret paths you can find on Ginger Island is the path to the Gem Bird Puzzle altar . To get to this path, follow the paving stones that lead to the right of the Parrot Express station.

To complete the Gem Bird Puzzle, visit Ginger Island on four rainy days . Each day, you will find a colored bird in one of Ginger Island's four main areas . These birds will drop gems for you to place on the altars. Place the dropped gem on the altar that corresponds to the quadrant of Ginger Island where you found the Gem Bird.

The Ship Wreck

Once you've cleared the barrier blocking the Ginger Island Farm area, you can head to the beach and enter the second hidden area, the shipwreck.

To enter the shipwreck, follow the sandy stones into the ship's back end. Inside, you will find a Golden Walnut bush.

The Hidden Walnut Path

On your Ginger Island Farm, you can find another secret area by heading to the Parrot Express station and heading to the far left . Inside the darkened treeline, you will see a few tufts of lighter green treetops. Follow the treetops until you get to the very end. Here, you will find yet another Golden Walnut.

In the same area, you can head down to the left edge of the treeline (the portion that creates the canopy for the staircase) and head around the tree grove. Here, you will be able to retrieve a Golden Walnut.

The Music Cave

Head to Ginger Island Farm's Parrot Express station and then head left across the rope bridge.

On the first tile at the end of the rope bridge, turn right so that you are headed straight up to the path on the edge of the cliff.

Here, underneath the curved palm tree , you will find the Music Puzzle Cave.

The Tiger Slime Path

After entering the Tiger Slime Grove , head to your right . Follow the edge of the cliff to the right . Destroying any obstacles in your way, you will be able to follow the cliff to a curved palm tree. There is a Golden Walnut underneath this palm.

The Joja Parrot Path

You can find another hidden walnut path to the left of the Ginger Island Volcano . Head towards the Golden Joja Parrot and walk along the treeline. At the bottom of the L-shaped treeline , you will be able to enter a secret area and collect the Golden Walnut there.

Once you are in the area with the Golden walnut, head to the bottom left corner of the small square-shaped clearing. Head left and you will find a second secret path. This path leads you along the cliff's edge to a second Golden Walnut.

The Hidden Volcano Path

Head into the Volcano and walk up to the lava river. While it may seem impossible to cross the lava river, you can cross by using your watering can to turn the lava rocks into stone.

To get to the hidden area by the lava river, use your watering can to create a path through the lava to the far left end of the river. Here, you will find a smaller lava pool and a staircase leading outside. Follow the path outside and you will find two Golden Walnuts.

The Hidden Bridge Tunnel

In the middle of Ginger Island is a rope bridge spanning the walking path by the Archaeologist's Tent . After entering (and opening, if necessary) the Dig Site, head up the stairs next to the Mushroom Cave.

Line yourself up on the same latitude as the rope bridge on the right side, then walk directly left , into the mountainside. You will pass through a hidden tunnel and come out on the side of the cliff with the rope bridge, where you will be able to harvest two Golden Walnuts.

VineTree Path

Also, in the middle of the island, there is a hidden path underneath the vine tree.

After climbing the stairs to the area with the Island Shop, take a right until you are standing underneath the vine tree. Walk underneath the vine tree, and you will come out on the cliff overlooking the beach.

You will find a Golden Walnut on the cliff.

The Palm Tree Path

One of the easier paths to find is the path to the Golden Walnut by the Ginger Island Shop. To get to the Golden Walnut by the shop stall, walk into the treeline underneath the curved palm tree on the left.

The Pirate Cove

After building the Island Resort , you will gain access to the hidden path to the Pirate Cove . To get to the Pirate Cove, follow the edge of the beach to the right . Here, there is a path that follows the cliffside.

Following the cliff leads you to a sandy beach.

On the far right of the beach is a set of wooden planks along the cliff wall. Head into the area the planks indicate and you will enter the Pirate Cove.

Unlockable Areas

There are a few hidden areas and paths in Stardew Valley that can be unlocked either through quests, story progression or by unlocking upgrades.

The Quarry Mine

While not technically a hidden path, the Quarry Mine is a hidden area that can only be unlocked after opening the Quarry . To get to the Quarry Mine, turn left from the Quarry Bridge and remove obstacles in your path until you are able to enter the cave mouth .

Inside the Quarry Mine, you will find several mineable nodes and monsters to slay . At the very back of the Quarry Mine is a Grim Reaper statue . You can claim the Golden Scythe from the reaper's hands.

Robin's Secret Paths

The final hidden paths in the game are unlockable by paying Robin to open up shortcuts around Stardew Valley.

To get this option, you first need to fully upgrade your house and build a house for Pam and Penny . Once these requirements are met, Robin will offer to open shortcuts for you.