One of the most common questions Sons of the Forest players have is how to get the shovel. If you want to beat the game and get all sorts of fun items to play with, you’ll need to track this one down. Especially since there are a number of secrets buried underground such as bunkers you can get dig into.
With that said, you can’t get the shovel until you grab the Rope Gun and Rebreather first. Before you can get past the shovel cave start, you’ll need to ride a zipline. And you can’t do that without the Rope Gun. Afterward, you’ll need the Rebreather for a couple of underwater sections. Continue further for a text and video walkthrough.
How to Get Shovel in Sons of the Forest
Where is the Shovel Cave?
You may want to make some armor before you head into this cave so you can take a few hits.
As goes with most items in Sons of the Forest, the developer loves to send players into caves to find them. This continues to be the case for the shovel so get ready for a fun time. You’ll run into a variety of mutants and a lot of them as well. Make sure you go in prepared with all the arrows, ammo, and meds you may need. Even though you can find suitcases with loot inside.
Before we dive into finding the shovel, you’ll need to know where the shovel cave is. One major clue is the three bodies hoisted on sticks out front. However, you can also just use the GPS location visible in the screenshot above. If you want to see the GPS location at several zoom levels, check out the video below.
It’s worth checking the middle body up close before entering the cave since it also has a Slingshot. Despite not finding much use for the Slingshot, it’s at least another item to collect. You can sling pebbles and golf balls at your enemies. But let’s be honest, the bow is often all you need to survive Sons of the Forest.
Once you’re ready, make your way into the cave by getting rid of the wooden planks blocking the entrance. Before you take the zipline in deeper, check below the ledge first. While Sons of the Forest loot seems to vary, I did find an Air Tank down here.
Take the Zipline Across and Find Some Loot
You can make your way back using this zipline but eventually, you won’t be able to return.
After taking the zipline deeper into the cave, search the area before diving underwater. You’ll come across more Air Tanks near the spotlights as well as a nearby body with items. This can help fill out your inventory if you need extra loot to survive. Once you’re done in this section, dive underwater and continue further into the cave.
Fair warning, you’ll come across a few blind mutants that can take a beating. But, they can also just fling themselves into the water and drown. From what I’ve gathered, none of the enemies in Sons of the Forest can swim. So you can definitely cheese a few enemies this way. However, it makes it tougher to get Creepy Armor from them.
Slide Down the Slippery Slope
The blind mutants can get a few easy hits on you if they’re waiting at the edge of the water.
The linear path continues from here toward a slippery slope with running water. Once you step onto it, your character will slide all the way down unable to return. The spotlight nearby has a few suitcases you can open for random loot. This also guides you toward the next area. I recommend using the tight corridors to fight enemies. Especially if you have molotovs.
After dealing with a swarm of blind mutants, you’ll run into a few other variants in the upcoming room. Once you make it to the corridor with strung-up bodies, you’ve almost made it to where the shovel is. This leads to a short underwater area with, of course, more blind mutants on the other end.
Pass by the Strung-Up Bodies to Find the Shovel
Every large open area is bound to be filled with mutants lurking in the dark.
Once those blind mutants are out of the way, you may notice a bunch of lights in the distance. Beware of all the mutant babies between you and those lights. Afterward, head toward the lights lining whatever this underground structure is. You’ll then come across a construction worker with a shovel in their lap.
At this point, I threw down a tent so I could get a quick save in. The last thing you want is to die and run through the cave all over again. Fortunately, as you make your way out of the cave, a shortcut will eventually appear. This shortcut opens up via an enemy Sluggy busting a wall down.
You’ve finally made it to the end of the cave where you can grab the shovel! And if you’re curious, you can’t jump toward that structure in the background.
That’s all there is to this in-detail guide on how to get the shovel if you’re not sure where it is. Now that you have one of the final major tools, you can uncover all sorts of secrets in Sons of the Forest. Especially the keycards you need to start unlocking those bunkers.
Jeff is a journalist with over 10 years of experience writing, streaming, and making content about video games. With an associate degree in journalism, he’s a sucker for RPGs, survival games, roguelikes, and more.