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In Stardew Valley's 1.5 update, Ginger Island was added, giving players a huge new area filled with things to discover and do. However, unlocking much of what the island has to offer will require Golden Walnuts, which are the currency accepted by the island's resident parrots. These colorful birds will ask for certain quantities of Golden Walnuts, and when the player pays up, the parrots will open new areas, unlock services, and more. There are 130 of these strange nuts to find in total.
One of the most important areas to unlock with Golden Walnuts is Qi's Walnut Room, which allows the player to track their Perfection rating and complete difficult quests to unlock extremely special rewards. Unlocking Qi's secret lair requires the player to have found a whopping 100 Golden Walnuts. For every Golden Walnut Stardew Valley has to offer, read on!
Updated on September 3, 2023 by Michael Christopher: We've given this guide an update to make the formatting more readable and fully flush out the details of finding all Stardew Valley Golden Walnuts.
The Parrot's Golden Walnut Hints
Players should begin hunting down the Golden Walnuts Stardew Valley is hiding by visiting Leo's hut on the eastern side of Ginger Island. Follow the young boy, Leo, who runs away when the player first arrives on the island. On the next screen in the jungle, a Golden Walnut is located clearly in a tree and should be given to the parrot on the next screen to the north inside Leo's hut. Afterward, this parrot can also provide the player with hints to find more Golden Walnuts. Each day, the parrot will give a vague hint on where to find another Golden Walnut Stardew Valley is hiding.
However, the parrot in Leo's hut will only provide hints for 123 out of 130 maximum golden walnuts located on Ginger Island. The parrot will not provide hints for the following golden walnut locations, which have all been noted in this guide:
- One Golden Walnut located on the bush in the eastern region, inside the Gem Bird shrine puzzle
- Trading a Banana for three Golden Walnuts at an altar outside Leo's hut
- Winning the Darts Game, located in the Pirate's Cove, which yields three Golden Walnuts
Golden Walnuts Found Anywhere
Total Golden Walnuts found anywhere: six
There are some Golden Walnuts that are not tied to a certain area on Ginger Island.
- Five Walnuts can be found randomly while fishing anywhere (one at a time)
- The first time the player has Clint crack open a Golden Coconut will result in a Golden Walnut
Golden Walnut Locations in East Ginger Island
Total Golden Walnuts in this area: 11
Aside from the first Golden Walnut mentioned above, the east section of Ginger Island contains a handful more:
- One is on the tree inside Leo's hut. Hit it with an axe to release it
- A Banana can be traded to a gorilla by placing it on the altar next to Leo's staircase. This will yield three Golden Walnuts
- On the path to the Gem Birds shrine puzzle, one Golden Walnut is located in the bushes on the southmost edge of the screen
As for the Gem Birds puzzle, a puzzle off of a hidden path further into the east side can be completed to reveal another five Golden Walnuts. On rainy days, a bird will appear randomly throughout the island and drop a gemstone, which should be taken to this puzzle and placed on its corresponding altar, depending on which island region the gem was obtained in: north, south, east, or west. The order and gems are randomized for each save file, so guides will not reveal the answer. This puzzle will result in a reward of five Golden Walnuts.
Golden Walnut Locations in West Ginger Island
Total Golden Walnuts in this area: 52
Several puzzles can be completed in this area to locate more Golden Walnuts on Ginger Island:
- Completing the Pirate Wife's quest will give the Stardew Valley player five Walnuts as a reward
- The Gourmand Frog will ask the player to harvest a Melon, Wheat, and Garlic in that order for a total of 15 Golden Walnuts
- A Simon Says puzzle in a cave north of the Tiger Slime Grove awards three Golden Walnuts
- Hitting the whack-a-mole creature on the beach will offer a single Walnut.
Additionally, some Golden Walnuts on Ginger Island West can be found through actions rather than in specific guaranteed locations
- Defeating Slimes in the Tiger Slime Grove will result in a Golden Walnut at random (only once)
- Harvesting crops can sometimes yield a Walnut (up to five)
- Mining the mussel rocks south of the Ginger Island farm will unlock another five Golden Walnuts (one can drop randomly)
General exploration around the new Stardew Valley island will also yield Golden Walnuts. On Ginger Island East, they can be found in the following spots:
- One Golden Walnut is located on the shipwreck
- Many Walnuts can be found by digging in specific locations:
- A Journal Scrap (#6) can be found on the beach south of the farmhouse. In the southeast section, there's a spot where a curved palm tree juts out from the cliff face. Digging in this upper-right corner will yield a Golden Walnut
- Also behind a Mahogany Tree is a square of different-looking grass. In the center tile, the player can dig for a Golden Walnut
- A triangle of blue starfish can be found on the beach near the farmhouse amidst some piles of wood. Dig in the center of the starfish for a Golden Walnut
- A diamond made of blue and yellow starfish is located near the tide pools on the beach. A Golden Walnut can be found by digging in the center
- Also near the tide pools is an X in the sand. Dig here for a Walnut
- There are some marks in the sand that look like indents to the southwest of the tide pools, right against the water line. A Golden Walnut can be dug out of the center
- Digging in the sand behind Birdie's shack will produce a Golden Walnut and a Quality Bobber
- East of the Parrot Express station is a diamond made of stones. Dig in the center for a Walnut
- There are also a bunch of bushes that have a Walnut on them. Shaking them will release the Walnut:
- Outside Qi's Walnut Room is a bush with a Walnut
- Past Qi's Walnut Room is a semi-hidden path along the water on the cliff. A Walnut bush is located at the end of it
- Behind a Mahogany Tree in the Tiger Slime Grove is a hidden Walnut bush
- A bush west of the farmhouse has a Golden Walnut (it may be hidden behind a taller palm tree)
- If the player walks across the bridge west of the Parrot Express, there's a thicket of trees on the south hiding a Walnut bush
- On the ledge east of the river, just south from the aforementioned bridge, there's a Walnut bush tucked into the path
- Just past the stone diamond is a hidden path through the trees. At the end of the path is a Walnut bush
- East of the Tiger Slime Grove is a narrow path wrapping around the upper cliff, with several curved palm trees along it. Follow it to the end to find a Golden Walnut bush
Golden Walnut Locations in North Ginger Island
Total Golden Walnuts in this area: 28
This area is where the Stardew Valley Volcano Dungeon is found, but that will be listed as its own section below. Outside of the Golden Walnuts found by entering the Volcano, here are the locations of the rest in Ginger Island North:
- Completing the fossil sets at the Island Field Office will reward Golden Walnuts:
- Six can be found by completing the Large Animal fossil
- The Snake fossil can be completed for three Walnuts
- Donating a Mummified Frog will yield another Walnut
- The last fossil at the Island Field Office, the Mummified Bat, will yield one more
- There are two island survey challenges at the Island Field Office. Each rewards a Walnut (answers: 22 purple flowers, 18 purple starfish)
- Using a slingshot on the tree sticking out of the side of the Volcano (above the Parrot Express) will knock down a Walnut
- Some Walnut bushes are found around the area:
- Through a hidden path west of the Volcano
- Hidden behind a palm tree southeast of the Volcano
- North of the Dig Site, up the stairs, through the cliff (it has a hidden path), and across the rope bridge (there are two bushes here)
- Up the steps from the Dig Site and due west across the bridge spanning the river
- West through a hidden gap in the trees just in front of the Island Trader
- Journal scrap #10 will lead to a diggable spot, found southwest of the entrance to the Volcano in the crook of a curved palm tree. This rewards an Ostrich Egg and a Walnut
- There are some other dig spots in this area, yielding up to seven Walnuts:
- Just inside the entrance to Ginger Island North from the main beach, on the left-hand side in the center of some rocks that form a circle
- In the pebble circle on the far northwest overlooking the ocean, where Leo sometimes hangs out
- Inside a circle of stones and plants east of the Volcano's entrance (the top and left sides of the "circle" are the Volcano wall and some bushes; the right and bottom of the "circle" are large, flat rocks)
- In a circle of stones north of the Dig Site, up the stairs
- Just inside the entrance from the main beach to Ginger Island North, there's a grassy spot with a palm tree and patch of sand. Dig in the sand
- In a diamond made of flowers in the middle of a grassy area, again, just inside Ginger Island North's entrance from the main beach
- Inside a square-ish shape made of faintly discolored sand, southeast of the Island Field Office (this can be hard to spot)
Golden Walnut Locations in the Volcano Dungeon
Total Golden Walnuts in this area: 21 (19 inside, two outside)
The Volcano Dungeon is one of the prime locations for Golden Walnuts in Stardew Valley, especially when many other locations have already been exhausted. A total of 19 Golden Walnuts are located inside the Volcano Dungeon and can be found in a number of ways:
- A whopping 17 Golden Walnuts can be found in the Volcano by opening chests, mining, and defeating monsters, at random (one at a time)
- At the top level of the Volcano is a Forge. There are also two bushes up here, one at the entrance and one at the exit. Each has a Walnut
Additionally, there are two Walnuts found outside of the Volcano, but can only be found by traversing through it:
- Inside the main entrance of the dungeon, with the lava river, the player can pour their watering can on the magma to form a bridge. By continuing this process westward along the lava river, they can make their way to an exit from the Volcano, with two Walnut bushes
Golden Walnut Locations in South Ginger Island
Total Golden Walnuts in this area: 12
The last handful of Golden Walnuts can be found in the area to the southeast of the main beach, which is only accessible once the player builds the Resort. There is one in this area that can be found before this point, though.
This Walnut can be found before the resort is built:
- Enter Ginger Island North, then take a sharp right. Head through a hidden path obscured by the large bright green tree to find a Walnut bush that is technically on Ginger Island South, though the hint parrot at Leo's considers it to be on the North.
The remaining 11 Walnuts in this area can only be obtained after building the Island Resort:
- On rainy days, a mermaid will appear on a rock in the ocean. By completing the puzzle with her, the player will earn five Walnuts. Check here for a guide to the puzzle and its solution
- Fishing in the center of the star-shaped tide pool will result in a Walnut
- There's a diamond shape made of yellow starfish on the beach in this area. Dig in the center for a Walnut
- After 8pm on non-rainy nights, the Pirate Cove will be populated with, fittingly, pirates. By playing darts against them, the player can win up to three Golden Walnuts (one per win)
- Also inside the Pirate Cove is a patch of sand amidst some barrels, to the right of the lagoon. Dig here for a Walnut
That's all of them! Good luck finding all of the Golden Walnuts Stardew Valley has to be found, and be sure to keep track, because the game doesn't tell the player which have been found and which have not.
Stardew Valley is available now on mobile devices, PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.