Backwoods
| Backwoods | |
|---|---|
| Type | Location |
The Backwoods is a thin strip of outdoor map in the northwest of the valley, and it comes in two halves that start out separate. The upper half is the quiet back road between the Farm and the Mountain, which saves a farmer the walk through Pelican Town to reach Robin's shop. The lower half is a short stretch of road west of the Bus Stop, and it is the only way in to The Tunnel. Villagers never walk through either half, which makes the Backwoods the safest open ground in the valley to leave items lying about. Its best harvest is berries off the bushes, and in winter it turns into a dig site.
Area
The higher section curves in an L from the north exit of the Farm round to the Mountain. Anyone building sheds, upgrading tools or buying wood takes this path constantly, because it skips town entirely.
The lower section is reached by walking west along the road out of the Bus Stop. From there a path leads into The Tunnel. The two halves can be seen from each other across the cliff, which is confusing the first time, since the drop cannot be climbed.
Robin fixes that. The town shortcuts she sells once Pam's house is built include a flight of steps between the Bus Stop road and the Backwoods, and the steps take a horse, so the whole region joins up into one loop.
Foraging
Seasonal forage grows in the upper section, and it grows thinly, so this is not a map to walk for forage alone. Winter is the exception, when the ground gives up Winter Roots and Snow Yams to the hoe.
Berry bushes are the real draw, and they stand in both halves. The red bushes ripen for a few days in mid-spring and hand over Salmonberries, and the dark blue ones ripen in early fall for Blackberries. Walking the Backwoods on the way to the Mountain during either window turns a commute into a sackful of fruit, and a high Foraging level pulls more than one berry per click.
The digging is better than the picking. Artifact spots here turn up the Skeletal Hand, along with Clay, Lost Books, Stone, Copper Ore and Coal, and Rice Shoots in spring. Spots are scarce for three seasons and then appear in quantity through winter, which makes the Backwoods worth a hoe in the cold months, when the farm itself is quiet.
Notes
Because no villager routes through the map, chests, kegs and dropped items are safe anywhere on it. That is unusual outside the Farm, and it makes the Backwoods a useful overflow yard for anyone who has run out of room at home.
The Backwoods also holds one quest item. Linus sends a letter on the first day of blackberry season asking after a basket he has lost, and the basket is sitting on the grass at the left-hand edge of the lower section, beside the entrance to The Tunnel. It can be seen from the upper path, which sends plenty of farmers looking in the wrong place: the only way to reach it is the road west out of the Bus Stop. Handing it back pays a friendship heart rather than gold, and three hearts with Linus brings the Sashimi recipe by post.
All Locations
Every entry in this group, with its key details.
