The Secret Woods is one of the great outdoor places to visit in Stardew Valley Expanded that can be accessed through the northwest corner of the Cindersap Forest. The entrance to the secret woods is blocked by a huge log but with your upgraded Steel Axe, you can easily clear it. There are different areas and ample hardwood you can find and dig up using the pickaxe in the secret woods. This allows you to find different books. Also, you will see forgeable items for seasonal crops and a mysterious statue here which gives the player one of Stardew Valley’s Stardrops. With these Stardrops, you can boost your maximum energy level by 34. Seeing the many benefits of secret woods, we will explain in this article how you can unlock the secret woods and the requirements needed to do so.
Navigating or Unlocking the Secret Woods
It is important you know the hidden paths that lead to Secret Woods before navigating or unlocking. You can find Secret Woods at Cindersap Forest through the Northern part of the Wizard Rasmodius tower and the western part of the spawning traveling cart. As earlier stated, the passage of the Secret Woods is blocked by a big fallen log. You will also encounter seasonal forage-ables and Slimes that will likely attack you here. So, to unlock the secret woods, you need the best tool.
The first thing to do is to upgrade your pickaxe to a Steel Axe or something higher. The requirements for this upgrade are:
- 5000 gold
- Five Iron Bars
After getting the aforementioned tools, bring them to Clint the blacksmith who uses two days to upgrade them. With the Steel Axe, you can now walk into the Secret Woods by chopping the big fallen wood into pieces. By doing this, you will find the hidden path to the Secret Woods.
Items in the Secret Woods
After unlocking the Secret Woods, there are different items you can find here. Some of the items include:
- A special lake – this lake contains rare fish that you can see on the far left.
- Slimes – you will fight them so come with your weapons when you enter the Secret Woods.
- Old Master Cannoli Statue
Overview of the new areas in the Stardew Valley Expanded
Apart from the Secret Woods that you can explore or unlock in this game, you can also unlock other important secret areas to enjoy the benefits. One such area to unlock and access in Stardew Valley Expanded is known as Junimo Woods.
Accessing the Junimo Woods
This secret area can be found in the southwest of Cindersap Forest. You can only access it when you have completed the Community Center renovations. There are different items you can sell if only you find the right way through the maze.
Before we look at the tricks in solving or walking through the maze, let’s look at how to complete the Community Center renovations.
Tips for Completing Center Renovations
You can access the Junimo Woods after renovating the community center in Stardew Valley. It is easy to unlock the Community Center in this game. First, walk into town from day 5 of the Spring season between 8 am – 1 pm to obtain a cutscene with Lewis. This is the only time and season to enter for the Community Center to open. When you follow another direction or enter at the wrong time, the cutscene needed to open the Center will not be triggered.
Mayor Lewis will now ask you to carry out a rat problem quest or investigation in the old building. You can easily complete this investigation when you examine the old golden book or scroll. To do that, enter this old building and look for the old book written in a strange language (Junimos Language).
After completing this quest, another quest will be unlocked which is known as “Meet the Wizard”. The Wizard will give you a potion that will allow you to read this old book. With this strange language reading ability, you can read what is written in the different rooms of the Community Center. You can now see the bundles that require donations. You can now begin to donate to the Craft Room Bundle. Different bundles will appear at various locations after making donations of certain items around the Community Center. The Junimos will give you different rewards when you successfully complete a bundle. After completing the different bundles, the renovation of the Community Center will be complete.
Guide to solving the maze
It may be difficult for you to solve the maze if you are a beginner in the Stardew Valley Expanded. Nevertheless, we have provided you with a guide on how to achieve that. To solve the maze, follow the tips below:
- Follow the mushrooms
- Along the path, locate mushrooms. You will see between two mushrooms a hidden break in the line of the tree.
- You will arrive at the Junimo village to know when you arrive at the end of the maze.
Final Thought
Stardew Valley Expanded has lots of Secrets hidden in different locations of the game for players to explore and unlock. Secret Woods and Junimo Woods are some of the secrets in this game. There are different items you can get when you unlock them. These items will help you and make your adventure journey in the game enjoyable. Nevertheless, to access any of these Woods, you must get certain tools and meet certain requirements as explained in this article. So, read the article again and follow the tips and tricks to get them faster.