Finding every Golden Walnut on Ginger Island is essential if you want to unlock the island's hidden areas, build farmhouses, and reach perfection. There are 130 Golden Walnuts hidden across Ginger Island. While some are obvious rewards for exploration, others require solving intricate puzzles, farming, fishing, or completing specific monster drops. This guide breaks down every single location and method so you can collect all 130 without missing a single one.
Understanding Golden Walnuts and Island Progression
Ginger Island functions as Stardew Valley's major late-game expansion area, introduced in the 1.5 update. You can't access these walnuts or the island until you repair Willy's old boat in the back room of his fish shop. Once you arrive, Leo and the island trader introduce you to the core progression loop: spending Golden Walnuts to unlock farm facilities, the resort, shortcuts, and the Qi Walnut Room.
Walnuts are distributed across specific categories. Some are found once per save file through fixed puzzles, while others are farmed or fished infinitely until a cap is reached. Let's break down the exact locations region by region, starting with the accessible surface areas.
West Ginger Island Locations
The western region of the island holds the majority of the walnuts, including those tied to Leo's treehouse and the farm area.
- Farm Area Dig Spot: Right where you set up your secondary farm, hoe the ground near the north cliff face to unearth a hidden walnut.
- Mussel Rocks: Along the western beach, mussels spawn daily. Breaking these open yields up to 5 walnuts total over time.
- Tree Puzzle: Follow the bird footprints on the ground near the farmhouse. They point toward specific trees in a sequence. Hacking the correct trees with your axe in the indicated order yields a walnut.
- Professor Snail's Cave: Once you free Professor Snail from the mushroom cave, donating complete fossil sets to his island tent awards multiple walnuts. You get 1 for the large animal skeleton, 1 for the snake, 1 for the mummified bat, and 1 for the mummified frog.
- Stardew Valley Farmhouse Restoration: Spend walnuts to build the island farmhouse (20 walnuts) and the mailbox (1 walnut), which unlocks additional puzzle areas nearby.
East Ginger Island Locations
The eastern jungle contains dense foliage, puzzles, and hidden paths that reward careful observation.
- Bird Statue Offering: In the jungle, you'll encounter a bird shrine that asks for specific crops depending on the season or random rotation. Bring the correct requested crop and place it in the shrine to receive a walnut.
- The Gem Birds Puzzle: Inside the rainy puzzle room in the jungle, four pedestals require specific gemstones (Aquamarine, Topaz, Amethyst, and Emerald) based on the weather conditions of the island. Placing all four correct gems in their respective shrines yields 5 walnuts.
- Buried in the Jungle Path: Walk along the winding jungle trails and look for distinct dirt tiles with visible stone patterns or unusual tufts of grass. Using your hoe on these tiles yields 3 distinct buried walnuts.
- Island Trader Tree: Near the trader stand, inspect the trees to the north. A hidden walnut rests in the foliage; shake the tree with your hands or an axe to drop it.
North Ginger Island Locations
The northern section hosts the Volcano Dungeon, Leo's treehouse, and intricate puzzle areas like the gemstone temple.
- Volcano Dungeon Exploration: Mining rocks, slaying monsters, and opening chests inside the Volcano Dungeon has a random chance to drop up to 10 walnuts total. Keep exploring deeper levels until you stop seeing drops.
- Volcano Dwarf Shop: Once you reach the forge on level 10 of the volcano, look for a hidden path to the left side of the room. A hidden wall leads to a vendor who sells 1 permanent walnut for 50 cinders.
- Gemstone Goddess Puzzle: In the northern valley, a stone goddess stands next to a cave entrance. She asks for specific colored gems over multiple days. Fulfilling her requests awards 5 walnuts.
- Darts Game with Pirates: Visit the pirate cove during an even-numbered night when it's raining (or any night after unlocking the resort) and play darts with the pirates. Winning three games awards 3 walnuts.
- The Mermaid Puzzle: On rainy days, head to the eastern beach where a mermaid sits on a rock. Use flute blocks arranged on the sand to play her favorite song (matching the number of stone circles on the nearby cliff), and she will reward you with 5 walnuts.
South Ginger Island and Ocean Locations
The southern coast and surrounding waters contain hidden treasures that require fishing rods and deep-sea exploration.
- Ocean Fishing: Cast your fishing rod anywhere off the shores of Ginger Island. While pulling up trash and regular fish, you have a cumulative chance to reel in up to 5 Golden Walnuts over time.
- Mermaid Island Sand Dig: On the small island south of the main beach, check the center sand tile between the palm trees. Hoeing this spot yields 1 hidden walnut.
- Coral Reef Diving: Explore the shallow waters surrounding the southern docks. Look closely at the sea floor for unusual sand ripples or shell arrangements to find 2 additional walnuts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many total Golden Walnuts are there in Stardew Valley?
There are exactly 130 Golden Walnuts hidden across Ginger Island. You need almost all of them to fully upgrade the island and unlock the Qi Walnut Room.
What happens if I can't find my last missing Golden Walnut?
If you're down to your final walnut and can't find it, visit the small parrot house in Leo's treehouse. Pay the parrot a fee of 1 radioactive ore, and it will give you a cryptic hint pointing directly to the remaining uncollected walnut.
Can I get Golden Walnuts in multiplayer?
Yes. In multiplayer games, walnuts are tracked globally for island progression, but individual players can collect specific world drops. If you're missing walnuts, check the shared tracker in the Qi Walnut Room to see which specific categories you haven't finished yet.
Do Golden Walnuts respawn?
Most Golden Walnuts do not respawn once collected. However, repeatable sources like farming, fishing, and breaking mussel rocks will continue to drop walnuts until you hit the maximum cap of 130 for that save file.
