Stardew Valley Secret Notes Guide: All Locations and Rewards

Stardew Valley hides an entire secret storyline behind a single item most players don’t find until their second or third year. The Magnifying Glass unlocks 25 secret notes scattered across the valley — each one a puzzle, a gift guide, a treasure map, or a piece of the town’s hidden lore. This is the complete reference: how to unlock notes, all 25 notes with solutions, every dig spot, and a full breakdown of rewards. Whether you’re hunting your last few notes or just getting started with our Stardew Valley guide, you’ll find everything here.

How to Get the Magnifying Glass

Secret notes don’t appear until you trigger a specific cutscene. Head to the Bus Stop area during Winter — any Winter year — and walk through the eastern section near the bus shelter. A hooded figure (referred to by fans as the Shadow Guy) will appear, apologise for following you, and drop a Magnifying Glass before disappearing into the shadows.

The requirements are minimal: it must be Winter, you must walk through that specific area, and you need at least 0 hearts with any villager (meaning simply that you’ve started the game). No friendship prerequisites, no seasonal restrictions beyond Winter itself.

Once collected, the Magnifying Glass sits permanently in your Wallet, not your bag. You can’t drop it, sell it, or lose it when you pass out in the mines. From the moment you pick it up, secret notes become possible drops from almost every farming activity.

How Secret Notes Drop

After unlocking the Magnifying Glass, notes randomly replace normal drops from these activities [1]:

Notes drop in a random order until your collection is complete. Once you’ve collected a note, it won’t drop again — the game tracks which you have and only drops missing ones. As your collection fills, each individual activity becomes less likely to produce a new note, making the final few harder to find. The tips section below covers the fastest strategies.

Character Notes: Notes 1–9

The first nine notes are diary entries, shopping lists, and letters that reveal loved gifts for Pelican Town’s villagers. Find these early and you’ll never need to guess what to give anyone — a significant advantage when you’re building relationships to unlock the heart events that reveal the town’s deeper storylines [3].

A few standouts worth noting. Note 1 mentions Abigail keeping an amethyst under her pillow — paired with her later admission that she eats rocks, it hints at something unusual about her nature that the game never fully explains (and that the community has theorised about for years). Note 4 reveals Maru loves Radioactive Bars, which many players miss since those only appear deep in the mines. Note 7 reveals Shane’s love of Beer, which can feel at odds with his recovery arc — the game is deliberately unsentimental about it. And Note 6 places Lewis and Marnie’s preferences side by side, a small foreshadowing detail that pays off properly with Note 12.

Quest and Puzzle Notes: Notes 10–15

These six notes trigger specific interactions with tangible, permanent rewards. They’re the most valuable notes in the collection.

Note 10 — Skull Cavern Coordinates

Note 10 shows a cryptic set of coordinates pointing deep into the Skull Cavern [1]. Reach floor 100 and you’ll find Mr. Qi waiting. He rewards you with Iridium Snake Milk — a permanent +25 max health boost, one of only a handful of lasting stat upgrades in the game. A treasure chest near the floor 100 ladder can also contain a second Magnifying Glass, useful as a backup (though your wallet-stored glass is already safe from loss). The Skull Cavern guide covers the fastest strategies for punching through to floor 100 with minimal supplies [2].

Note 11 — The Mysterious Qi Quest

Head to the Bus Stop tunnel with a Battery Pack. Inside the tunnel, find the electrical box on the wall and place the Battery Pack in it. This starts the multi-step “Mysterious Qi” quest — a chain of puzzles that eventually unlocks Qi’s Walnut Room on Ginger Island and his exclusive Qi Gems currency, which buys end-game items unavailable anywhere else in the valley.

Note 12 — Lewis and Marnie’s Secret

After midnight (12:40 AM works reliably), walk to the large bush just south of Harvey’s clinic in the lower area of Pelican Town. Interact with it. Lewis and Marnie stumble out, clearly embarrassed. There’s no item reward — this is pure story. But it’s one of the most talked-about moments in Stardew Valley, and it sets up Note 19’s punchline perfectly. I’d recommend doing Note 12 before Note 19 just for the full effect.

Note 13 — Junimo Plush

The note reads: “12 o’clock noon SHARP. Last day of the season. Check the bush above the playground.” On Day 28 of any season, at exactly 12:00 PM, walk to the small bush directly above the playground in central Pelican Town and interact with it. You receive a Junimo Plush — a rare furniture item with no other reliable source in the game. Mark this on your in-game calendar, because missing the window means waiting a full season to try again.

Note 14 — Stone Junimo Statue

Behind the Community Center, partially obscured by the building’s roofline, a collectible is tucked against the right-side fence. Use a hoe or pickaxe to dig it up — it’s a Stone Junimo statue. No timing requirement, so grab it on any visit to the Community Center.

Note 15 — The Mermaid Show

The note shows a shell sequence: 1-5-4-2-3. The Mermaid Show note is easy to misread — it’s not a lock code, it’s a clicking order. During the Night Market (Winter 15–17), board the Mermaid Boat moored at the Beach. You’ll see five clickable shells in a row. Click them in this order: 1st, 5th, 4th, 2nd, 3rd. The mermaid performs a special routine and rewards you with a Pearl — worth 2,500g at the shipping box and a universally loved gift for several villagers, including Emily and the Wizard. Don’t miss the Night Market window; it’s the only way to complete this note each year.

Treasure Map Notes: Notes 16–21

Notes 16 through 21 are hand-drawn treasure maps, each showing a section of the valley with a dig spot marked. Use your hoe on the indicated tile to unearth the reward [1].

Note 16 — Railroad Treasure

Head north to the Railroad area, past the bathhouse. Find the large boulder at the northern edge of the map. Dig one tile to the right of that boulder using your hoe. You’ll uncover a Treasure Chest filled with random high-value items — often gems, ore bars, or rare seeds.

Note 17 — Playground Dig (Strange Doll Green)

The dig spot is near the playground in central Pelican Town. Look at the note’s map image to identify the exact tile — the X sits near the east bank of the river by the community center. Dig at the marked tile to find the Strange Doll (Green) artefact. Both strange dolls (this one and the yellow from Note 18) can be donated to Gunther’s Museum for collection credit.

Note 18 — Bug Lair Area (Strange Doll Yellow)

This dig spot is near the mine’s bug-infested lower entrance area. Head to the designated tile shown on the note’s map — in the region south of the main mine entrance near the Bug Lair. Dig to find the Strange Doll (Yellow) — the second half of the artefact pair from Note 17.

Note 19 — The Solid Gold Lewis Statue

This is Stardew Valley’s most famous secret, and it absolutely earns the reputation.

The note is a hand-drawn map starting at 1 Willow Lane in the southern part of Pelican Town. Stand directly in front of that door and follow each arrow in sequence — move in each arrow’s direction until you hit a wall or obstacle, then proceed to the next arrow. The path winds through the lower town, past the sewer drain area, and ends behind Mayor Lewis’s house [1].

Dig the marked tile with your hoe to unearth the Solid Gold Lewis statue — a large golden effigy of the mayor in a heroic pose.

What to do with it: Place the statue anywhere in Pelican Town and go to sleep. The next morning, Mayor Lewis sends an indignant letter demanding you remove it immediately — with 750 gold attached as “compensation.” Pick it up. Place it again. Sleep again. Another angry letter, another 750g. There’s no known limit. The mayor’s reaction never changes, the gold keeps arriving, and the sequence never gets old. After confirming his relationship via Note 12, watching Lewis scramble to protect his dignity hits considerably harder.

Note 20 — Special Charm (Northwest Corner)

The note’s arrows start from the town square and trace a path to the northwest corner of Pelican Town, where a truck is parked beside the Joja Mart building. Approach the truck’s rear window and speak to the driver — he asks for a Rabbit’s Foot.

Trade it and receive the Special Charm — a permanent wallet item that boosts your daily luck. On good-luck days you’ll notice even better drops and treasure rooms; on bad-luck days the negative effects are noticeably softened. It’s the single best passive upgrade for mining runs and Skull Cavern dives.

Note 21 — Bear’s Knowledge (South of Farm)

Head south past your farm to the Secret Woods — you’ll need a Steel Axe or better to break the log blocking the path. Enter the woods between 6 AM and 7 PM with Maple Syrup in your inventory. A bear will appear and share knowledge about the valley’s berries.

Reward: Bear’s Knowledge, a permanent wallet item that triples the sell price of Blackberries and Salmonberries. Every Spring, Salmonberry bushes yield dozens of berries that most players sell for next to nothing. With Bear’s Knowledge active, those same bushes become a meaningful early-season income source, every year, with zero effort.

Notes 22–25

The final four base-game notes cover cosmetic unlocks, lore hints, and one powerful friendship trick.

• Note 22 — Junimo Hut Colours: Place any foraged mineral or gem into a Junimo Hut’s chest and the Junimos will change colour to match it. A Prismatic Shard turns them rainbow. Purely cosmetic, but satisfying for players who care about farm aesthetics.
• Note 23 — Strange Note (Second Bear Trigger): An alternate path to the Secret Woods bear encounter — same result as Note 21 (Bear’s Knowledge). If you’ve already completed Note 21, this note simply confirms what you’ve done. If you somehow missed Note 21 first, Note 23 gives you another route to the same reward.
• Note 24 — Ornate Necklace: Fish in the water outside the Spa during Spring, Summer, or Fall and you may reel in an Ornate Necklace. While it’s in your inventory, speak to Caroline for +50 friendship, then speak to Abigail for +100 friendship. Abigail’s reaction adds a layer to her connection with Caroline — a small but resonant piece of lore that ties back to Note 1’s rock-eating detail.
• Note 25 — Mastery Hint: Provides cryptic guidance toward the Mastery Cave added in version 1.6. Reach level 10 in all five skills (Farming, Mining, Foraging, Fishing, Combat) to unlock the cave and its permanent mastery perks. On pre-1.6 versions, this note’s content won’t be actionable yet.

Journal Scraps: The Ginger Island Version

Once you’ve repaired Willy’s boat and reached Ginger Island, a parallel collectible system activates: Journal Scraps. These are commonly confused with Secret Notes, but they work differently [1].

Key Journal Scraps to prioritise:

• Scraps #4 and #6: Map coordinates for buried Golden Walnuts and bonus items — essential for unlocking every island upgrade without grinding.
• Scrap #9: The Mermaid shell sequence for the island’s own mermaid show, which rewards 5 Golden Walnuts.
• Scrap #10: Dig spot showing where to find an Ostrich Egg and an additional Golden Walnut.
• Scrap #11: Hints at combining two rings at the island forge — critical information for late-game combat builds that most players discover too late.

If you’re hunting every Golden Walnut to unlock all island facilities, collecting Journal Scraps first is significantly more efficient than brute-force searching the island.

Tips for Finding All Notes Faster

Target Artifact Spots First

Worm tiles — small soil patches with visible wriggling worms — are your second-best note source at ~11% drop chance. Hoe every single one you encounter. They appear most frequently in Spring along the farm’s south side, the beach path, and the mountain trail. Never walk past one without hoeing it.

Fish Actively

Every cast that would normally yield trash can instead produce a Secret Note (~8%). This is an easy passive method — fish during low-energy gaps or while waiting for crops to grow. Notes found here count exactly the same as any other source.

Farm Giant Crops

Plant crops in solid 3×3 blocks with no gaps, paths, or objects between them. At season’s end, there’s a small chance the block becomes a Giant Crop — and harvesting any Giant Crop is a guaranteed Secret Note drop. With a large farm and Junimo Huts managing harvests, Giant Crops appear regularly and make late-game collection much faster.

Mine Aggressively

Monster kills (3.3%) and stone breaking (0.75%) stack up on mine floors. Bomb densely packed floors to break stones and kill monsters in the same blast — floors 41–80 in the regular mines have good monster density and fast traversal. For Note 10 specifically, you’ll need to push into the Skull Cavern anyway [2].

Don’t Miss the Time-Locked Notes

Two notes have specific time windows and are easy to miss permanently for a season:

• Note 13 (Junimo Plush) — Day 28, exactly 12:00 PM, bush above the playground
• Note 15 (Mermaid Show) — Night Market, Winter 15–17 only

Mark both dates on your in-game calendar as soon as you find the notes. Missing Note 15’s Night Market window adds a full year to your collection time.

Use the Endgame Efficiently

As you approach your final notes, the effective drop rate per activity drops because the pool is nearly empty. At that stage, switch exclusively to Artifact Spots and fishing — they offer the best rate-per-time-spent for the last few notes. Brute-force mining becomes inefficient once you’re down to two or three missing notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I lose the Magnifying Glass?

No. It lives in your Wallet, not your inventory, so it can’t be lost when you pass out, dropped by accident, or removed by any in-game mechanic. It’s permanent once collected.

What if I miss the Night Market?

You’ll need to wait until the following year’s Night Market (Winter 15–17) to complete Note 15. It’s an annual event, so missing it is a one-year delay — annoying, but recoverable.

Can I place the Solid Gold Lewis statue more than once?

Yes, as many times as you like. Each time you place it and go to sleep, Lewis sends an angry letter with 750 gold. There’s no known limit in the community — players have repeated the cycle dozens of times in a single save file.

Do secret notes work in multiplayer?

Notes are tracked per player. Each farmer on a shared farm needs their own Magnifying Glass and collects their own notes independently. The Shadow Guy cutscene at the Bus Stop triggers separately for each player who walks through the area in Winter.

Are there more notes in version 1.6?

Yes — version 1.6 added Notes 26 and 27. Note 26 reveals that placing Raisins in a Junimo Hut gives Junimos a chance to harvest double crops. Note 27 provides expanded hints about the Mastery Cave system. Players on consoles or older PC versions running 1.5 will see a total of 25 notes.

What’s the fastest way to complete all notes?

Early game: combine Artifact Spot hoeing (11%) with active fishing (8%) for consistent note income. Mid-game: set up Giant Crops for guaranteed drops. Late game (final few notes): stick to Artifact Spots and fishing exclusively — monster grinding and stone breaking become inefficient when the pool is nearly empty. Every note you’re missing reduces the average time between drops significantly.

Sources

• Stardew Valley Wiki — Secret Notes
• Stardew Valley Wiki — Journal Scraps
• Switchblade Gaming — Skull Cavern Guide
• Switchblade Gaming — Heart Events Guide