Stardew Valley - Secret Woods Guide

The Secret Woods is one of the areas in the game that many people end up missing when they first start the game. It is a small hidden area that is located to the west of Marnie’s ranch.
XykJyuC.jpg

The reason that people miss it so often is that it requires you to break a log which can only be broken by an axe that is of the steel quality or higher. It is fairly easy to locate, all you need to do is to go out of the southern exit of the farm and just head west. That will lead you to the log that is blocking the way. You can also find it on the map as it will be denoted by 4 question marks on the map.
qzusjP3.jpg

Now let’s get into why this area is important and what you can get from it.
Walkthrough:
The first and foremost thing that is important about this place is that it is the best spot to get hardwood, which you need for constructing a lot of buildings. Once you enter the Secret Woods you will see stumps growing in the area. If you chop them down you will get hardwood. The stumps come back every day and you can get 12 hardwood from all the stumps, which means that you can get 12 hardwood every day.
evl5wSv.png

There are also a lot of worms in the area which means that you will need your hoe as well. All you need to do is dig up the areas with the worms and you can find books, artifacts and other things relating to the museum. There are generally 3 worms there every day. The area also has Slimes which will attack you but they are not too hard to deal with as long as you have a decent weapon.
The best weapon for dealing with slimes is a sword as it prevents them from crowding around you. The Secret Woods also has a fishing area which allows you to catch the Woodskip which is a rare fish that is needed for one of the bundles in the Community Center.
kT4tDq7.jpg

There is also a major game element in the Secret Woods. There is one Stardrop that is hidden there. Once you reach the end of the woods you will find a statue of Old Master Cannoli and the inscription will read that he is still looking for the sweetest taste.
a8qfuXB.jpg

This is a puzzle because the statute requires you to give something to it in order to get the Stardrop from it. What you need to do is to bring a Sweet Gem Berry to the statue and it will give up the Stardrop and thus you can increase your energy level permanently by 34 points.
The Sweet Gem Berry seeds or plant can be bought from the travelling merchant. He will have it in stock randomly. If you get the seeds you will have to plant them in fall and they take 24 days to grow so you will need to plant them by the 4th of Fall.