Skyrim's expansive open world never ceases to impress. Even after nine years since its release, Skyrim still manages to have many secrets and quests that players are just now uncovering. Part of that has to do with how much detail is packed into the world itself. Thousands of locations are available to explore, with many of them being unmarked and off the beaten path.
The Reach is one of Skyrim's major holds that has a wide range of hidden locations that many players have yet to see. Even some of the area's marked caves and dungeons are missed by most players due to being out of the way and having no quests tied to them. Whether it's Falmer caves or easter eggs, here are 10 interesting locations players likely haven't found in Skyrim.
10 Gloomreach
Gloomreach is a unique cave in The Reach that isn't tied to any quests or objectives. It can be found southeast of Old Hroldan Inn. Unlike most caves, Gloomreach has a main level and a Gloomreach Hive sublevel. Both floors of the cave are lit by strange blue tendrils that can be found on the roof and walls of the cavern. It's a typical Falmer dungeon otherwise, but the strange atmosphere of Gloomreach is worth experiencing.
9 Rowboat Cache
Near the river that runs adjacent to Sky Haven Temple is a rowboat docked on the side of a riverbank. Players can reach the boat southwest of the temple. The boat itself has an apothecary's satchel, multiple flawless gems, as well as a strongbox. It seems it was carrying some sort of chest, as an underwater chest can be found directly under the boat. With how many valuables are on the boat, it's worth wondering whether or not they were stolen goods. Regardless, it's a cache of valuables players can find early on in their adventure.
8 Captive Swimmer
Northwest of the Shrine to Peryite lies a deceased woman next to a pond. While this isn't strange in of itself, the woman is named "Captive" when inspected. Her body has a journal that talks about her father asking for her to stop swimming on her own and her refusing to listen. Two arrows can be found near her body, suggesting the Forsworn her father were warning about decided to kill her.
Players can actually find the two Forsworn that killed her when they approach her corpse, although the chance of them spawning appears to be relatively low. It's a great example of the environmental storytelling that Bethesda has mastered with each Elder Scrolls entry.
7 Chillwind Depths
South of Dragon Bridge lies a strange cave near a waterfall. Named Chillwind Depths, this Falmer cave is one of the best sources of alchemy ingredients in the game. This cave has the highest number of Glowing Mushrooms out of any cave in the game, and it also has a hefty number of Imp Stools and Chaurus Eggs as well. Since it isn't tied to any quest, some players might have missed this alchemy farming spot during their playthrough.
6 Dead Lover's Camp
Following a path north of Old Hroldan Inn will reveal a small camp with a dead couple and a roaming animal that's leveled, meaning it can be anything from a Wolf to a Sabre Cat. Looking at the bodies of the deceased couple will reveal that they were named Talvur and Karan, although Karan is named Breton for some reason. Both ran away together due to Karan's father not liking Talvur.
5 Lair of the Wispmother
West of the Shrine to Peryite lies a unique Dwarven Ruin that doesn't lead into a proper Dwarven dungeon. Instead, it has been transformed into the home of a Wispmother, one of Skyrim's rarest foes. The loot here is nothing spectacular, but the chance to fight one of Skyrim's most exotic foes is worth the short journey.
4 Juniper Shrine
North of Valthume is a rather small Juniper Shrine next to a Forsworn camp. These Forsworn can decide to attack the player when they approach their camp near this shrine. Since Juniper trees are rather uncommon in this part of Skyrim, it's interesting to see that there's a small shrine dedicated to just one tree. There is also a burial tomb nearby that has a few items in it, suggesting this shrine could be commemorating someone.
3 300 Easter Egg
A short jog south of the Shrine to Peryite reveals a skeleton next to a slain Sabre Cat between two rocks. The Sabre Cat has two arrows in it and a leveled weapon through its mouth. If this seems oddly familiar, that's because this is a reference to the film 300. Near the start of the film, Leonidas leads a wolf down a narrow passage to stab it in the mouth with a spear. It seems that Leonidas didn't make it out alive in The Elder Scroll's interpretation of the scene.
2 Trollsbane's Demise
From Cradle Stone Tower, head west until players find two trolls near a nesting area. Defeat the trolls and walk inside to find a deceased Nord adventurer named Frofnir Trollsbane. It seems his disdain for trolls is so great that he created a unique weapon named Trollsbane exclusively for fighting them. Players can obtain this unique weapon and use it for themselves. Trollsbane is a unique two-handed warhammer that deals 15 points of fire damage to trolls, frost trolls, and armored trolls.
1 Reachwater Rock
Most players know of Red Eagle and his tomb in The Reach, but there is another legendary character that also resides in this hold. Gauldur is an Arch-Mage that once held extraordinary power. His body can be found in Reachwater Rock, just southeast of Markarth, but players will need all three of Gauldur's amulet fragments and the Ivory Dragon Claw from Folgunthur before entering the dungeon.
Once all of these items have been found, players will enter a unique dungeon that requires them to defeat three bosses in succession to combine the Gauldur amulet fragments into one. Completing this dungeon rewards a massive amount of gold and Gauldur's Amulet, one of the most well-rounded amulets in the game.