So you’ve made it to Ginger Island and realized pretty quickly that those colorful parrots aren’t accepting your regular cash—they want Golden Walnuts. And they want a lot of them.
Here’s the deal: there are 130 Golden Walnuts scattered across Ginger Island, and you’ll need them to unlock pretty much everything the island has to offer. Want to access new areas? That’ll be walnuts. Looking to unlock services? More walnuts. Trying to get into Qi’s Walnut Room to track your Perfection rating? That’s a whopping 100 walnuts right there.
The good news? I’ve tracked down every single one, and I’m breaking it all down for you in this guide. Whether you’re just starting your walnut hunt or you’re stuck at 129/130 (we’ve all been there), this walkthrough will help you find them all.
Quick note: With the Stardew Valley 1.6 update, ConcernedApe added the Golden Joja Parrot, which lets you essentially buy your way out of the final grind. More on that later!
Getting Started: Your First Golden Walnut and the Hint Parrot
Before you go walnut hunting, head to Leo’s hut on the eastern side of Ginger Island. Follow the kid when he runs away from you (don’t worry, he warms up eventually). On the next jungle screen, you’ll spot your first Golden Walnut hanging in a tree—grab it and take it to the parrot inside Leo’s hut.
This parrot becomes your best friend during the hunt. Each day, it’ll give you vague hints about where to find more Golden Walnuts. The hints aren’t always crystal clear, but they’re better than wandering aimlessly.
Important heads-up: The hint parrot will only help you find 123 out of 130 walnuts. It won’t give hints for:
- The walnut in the Gem Bird shrine puzzle bush
- The 3 walnuts from trading a Banana at the gorilla altar
- The 3 walnuts from winning the Darts Game in Pirate’s Cove
Keep that in mind as you get closer to completing your collection!
Golden Walnuts Found Anywhere (6 Total)
Some walnuts aren’t tied to specific locations, which is honestly kind of annoying when you’re trying to complete the collection:
- 5 Walnuts from fishing – These pop up randomly while you’re casting anywhere on the island (one at a time)
- 1 Walnut from Golden Coconut – The first time you have Clint crack open a Golden Coconut, you’ll get a walnut inside
The fishing ones can take a while, so just keep at it whenever you’re on the island.
East Ginger Island Golden Walnut Locations (11 Total)
The eastern section is where Leo hangs out, and it’s got some straightforward walnuts plus a puzzle:
Easy finds:
- Chop the tree inside Leo’s hut with your axe for a walnut
- Place a Banana on the altar next to Leo’s staircase to trade with a gorilla for 3 Golden Walnuts
- Check the bushes on the southernmost edge of the path to the Gem Birds shrine
The Gem Birds Puzzle (5 Walnuts): This one’s actually pretty cool. On rainy days, birds will randomly appear around the island and drop gemstones. Collect these gems and place them on the corresponding altars at the hidden Gem Birds shrine based on which region you found them in (north, south, east, or west).
The order and gems are randomized for each save file, so you’ll need to figure it out yourself. Complete all four altars correctly, and you’ll score 5 Golden Walnuts. Worth the effort!
West Ginger Island Golden Walnut Locations (52 Total)
Alright, the western section is where things get real. This is the largest collection of walnuts on the island, and you’ll need to do some exploring, puzzle-solving, and crop farming.
Puzzles and Quests:
- Pirate Wife’s Quest – Complete her questline for 5 walnuts
- Gourmand Frog – This picky frog wants Melon, Wheat, and Garlic in that specific order. Feed it all three for 15 Golden Walnuts
- Simon Says Cave Puzzle – North of the Tiger Slime Grove, there’s a cave with a musical puzzle. Get it right for 3 walnuts
- Whack-a-mole Creature – Hit the little guy on the beach for 1 walnut
Random Activity Walnuts:
- Defeat slimes in the Tiger Slime Grove until one drops a walnut (happens once)
- Harvest crops on your island farm—up to 5 walnuts can randomly appear
- Mine the mussel rocks south of the farm for 5 walnuts (one drops randomly)
Exploration and Digging:
There’s a walnut on the shipwreck, and then a bunch of spots where you need to dig. Look for these patterns:
Dig spots:
- Southeast section where a curved palm tree juts from the cliff (upper-right corner)
- Center tile of a square of different-looking grass behind a Mahogany Tree
- Center of a triangle of blue starfish near the farmhouse
- Center of a diamond made of blue and yellow starfish by the tide pools
- The X in the sand near the tide pools
- Indent marks in the sand southwest of tide pools against the water line
- Behind Birdie’s shack (also gets you a Quality Bobber!)
- Center of a stone diamond east of the Parrot Express station
Walnut bushes to shake:
- Outside Qi’s Walnut Room
- End of the semi-hidden path past Qi’s Walnut Room along the cliff water
- Behind a Mahogany Tree in Tiger Slime Grove
- West of the farmhouse (might be hidden behind a palm tree)
- In a thicket of trees south of the bridge west of Parrot Express
- On the ledge east of the river, south from that bridge
- Hidden path past the stone diamond
- End of the narrow path around the upper cliff east of Tiger Slime Grove
Yeah, that’s a lot of bushes. The western section is huge, and honestly, having a checklist helps.
North Ginger Island Golden Walnut Locations (28 Total)
The northern section is home to the Volcano Dungeon (which I’ll cover separately), but there’s still plenty to find outside of it.
Island Field Office Rewards:
Completing fossil sets here is super rewarding:
- Large Animal fossil – 6 walnuts
- Snake fossil – 3 walnuts
- Mummified Frog – 1 walnut
- Mummified Bat – 1 walnut
- Two island surveys – 1 walnut each (answers: 22 purple flowers, 18 purple starfish)
Other Finds:
- Use a slingshot on the tree sticking out of the Volcano’s side (above Parrot Express)
- Journal scrap #10 leads to a dig spot southwest of the Volcano entrance (gets you an Ostrich Egg plus a walnut!)
More walnut bushes:
- Hidden path west of the Volcano
- Behind a palm tree southeast of the Volcano
- North of the Dig Site, through a hidden cliff path, across the rope bridge (2 bushes here)
- West across the bridge from the Dig Site stairs
- West through a hidden gap in front of the Island Trader
Dig spots (7 walnuts total):
- Circle of rocks just inside the entrance from the main beach (left side)
- Pebble circle on the far northwest overlooking the ocean (Leo’s hangout spot)
- Circle of stones and plants east of the Volcano entrance
- Circle of stones north of the Dig Site, up the stairs
- Grassy spot with a palm tree and sand patch inside the entrance
- Diamond of flowers in a grassy area near the entrance
- Square-ish shape of discolored sand southeast of the Island Field Office (hard to spot!)
Volcano Dungeon Golden Walnut Locations (21 Total)
The Volcano is honestly one of the best places to farm walnuts, especially when you’ve exhausted other locations.
Inside the Volcano (19 walnuts):
- 17 walnuts drop randomly from chests, mining, and defeating monsters (one at a time, so keep exploring!)
- 2 walnut bushes at the top level where the Forge is—one at the entrance, one at the exit
Outside via Volcano (2 walnuts):
- At the main entrance with the lava river, use your watering can to cool the magma and create bridges
- Keep heading westward along the lava river to reach an exit with 2 walnut bushes
The random drops in the Volcano mean you’ll want to run it multiple times. It’s also great for grinding if you need resources anyway.
South Ginger Island Golden Walnut Locations (12 Total)
The southern section is where the Island Resort gets built, and most walnuts here require that construction to be complete.
Before the Resort (1 walnut):
- Enter North Ginger Island, take a sharp right, and go through a hidden path obscured by a large bright green tree to find a walnut bush
After Building the Resort (11 walnuts):
- Mermaid Puzzle (5 walnuts) – On rainy days, a mermaid appears on a rock. Complete her musical puzzle to earn 5 walnuts
- Fish in the center of the star-shaped tide pool for 1 walnut
- Dig in the center of a yellow starfish diamond on the beach
- Darts Game in Pirate Cove (3 walnuts) – After 8pm on non-rainy nights, play darts against pirates. Win three games for 3 walnuts total
- Dig in the patch of sand inside Pirate Cove (right of the lagoon, among barrels)
The Darts Game is actually pretty fun, and it’s a nice change of pace from all the digging and bush-shaking.
The Golden Joja Parrot: Your Expensive Safety Net
Here’s where the 1.6 update throws you a lifeline—or empties your wallet, depending on how you look at it.
The Golden Joja Parrot hangs out west of the Volcano Dungeon entrance. If you’re stuck at 129/130 walnuts and losing your mind trying to figure out which one you missed, this parrot has your back. For 10,000g per missing walnut, it’ll automatically find and deliver any Golden Walnuts you haven’t collected yet.
Here’s how it works:
- Pay the parrot (10,000g × number of missing walnuts)
- Go to sleep
- Wake up the next day with all remaining walnuts in your possession
It’s pricey—if you’re missing 10 walnuts, that’s 100,000g—but honestly? Sometimes it’s worth it just to move on with your life. Plus, by the time you’re hunting down the last few walnuts, money’s probably not your biggest concern anyway.
Tips for Golden Walnut Hunting
After tracking down all 130 of these things, here are some tips that’ll save you time:
- Keep a checklist – The game doesn’t track which walnuts you’ve found, so notes are your friend
- Focus on guaranteed sources first – Knock out the puzzles, quests, and fossil donations before grinding random drops
- Farm the Volcano – If you need those last few random walnuts, the Volcano is your best bet
- Rainy days matter – The Gem Birds puzzle and Mermaid puzzle only happen when it rains
- Use the hint parrot daily – Even vague hints can point you in the right direction
- Don’t stress the last few – That’s what the Golden Joja Parrot is for!
The Golden Walnut hunt is one of Stardew Valley’s most comprehensive collectathons, and honestly, it’s pretty satisfying to complete. Just take it one region at a time, and you’ll get there!
Want to play or learn more? Check out Stardew Valley on Steam or grab it on Xbox.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How many Golden Walnuts do I need to unlock everything on Ginger Island?
You’ll need all 130 Golden Walnuts to achieve true completion, but the most important milestone is 100 walnuts to unlock Qi’s Walnut Room. This gives you access to special quests and lets you track your Perfection rating. Other unlocks happen at various thresholds—for example, you’ll need walnuts to unlock the Island Trader, build the Island Resort, and open up new paths around the island.
What’s the fastest way to get Golden Walnuts in Stardew Valley?
Start with the guaranteed sources: complete the Gourmand Frog quest (15 walnuts), finish the fossil collections at the Island Field Office (11 walnuts total), and solve the Gem Birds puzzle (5 walnuts). Then hit the Volcano Dungeon repeatedly—you can get 17 random walnuts from chests, mining, and defeating monsters there. The Volcano is honestly the best place to grind once you’ve exhausted the easy pickings.
Is the Golden Joja Parrot worth using?
If you’re stuck on that last walnut or two and you’ve already spent hours searching, absolutely. At 10,000g per missing walnut, it’s expensive but not gamebreaking—especially in late game when money flows pretty freely. It’s basically a sanity-saver for when you can’t figure out which random fishing walnut you’re missing or which bush you somehow overlooked. No shame in using it!
Can I get Golden Walnuts before unlocking Ginger Island completely?
You can start collecting Golden Walnuts as soon as you reach Ginger Island, but many areas and walnut locations require you to spend walnuts first to unlock them. For example, you can’t access South Ginger Island (where the Resort is) until you’ve paid parrots to build bridges and clear paths. It’s a progressive system—collect walnuts, spend them to unlock areas, collect more walnuts in those new areas. Just focus on exploring thoroughly as each section opens up!
