Rowanberries sit at an awkward point in Winter Burrow’s progression: you don’t need them early, but when they show up in recipes and quests, you suddenly need a lot, fast. The game also pushes you toward colder, more hostile regions at the same time, so knowing exactly where to go keeps the pace gentle instead of grindy.
Rowanberry basics in Winter Burrow
| Item | Type | Main uses | Where they grow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rowanberry | Foraged berry | Cooking (Wild Jam, Rowanberry Pie), quest progression | Wilderness area south-west of your burrow, around Willow |
Rowanberries are bright red berries that grow in clusters on small trees with light brown bark. The game uses them in a handful of recipes and in Bufo’s late-game questline, so you eventually need reliable access to a grove rather than a few scattered berries.
You can collect Rowanberries in two ways:
- Pick up berries that have fallen on the ground around a Rowanberry tree.
- Chop the tree down with an Axe to quickly gather a larger stack at once.
They do not grow right outside your burrow, and you must first push into the region where you meet Willow to find them in meaningful quantities.
How to reach the main Rowanberry area
The most consistent Rowanberry spot sits just beyond a line of Granite boulders south-west of your home burrow. This route assumes you already have a Granite Pickaxe to clear that barrier.
| Step | Action from your burrow | What to look for | Tool check |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leave your burrow and head south-west into the first adjacent area. | Standard snowy wilderness with paths fanning out. | None |
| 2 | Keep moving south-west, then curve west in the next screen. | Path narrowing toward a rock barrier. | None |
| 3 | Stop at the wall of Granite boulders blocking the route. | Granite rocks across the path, a nearby campfire checkpoint. | Granite Pickaxe |
| 4 | Break the Granite boulders and step into the campfire area. | Campfire, a backpack with Advanced Kindling, a scroll recipe on the ground. | Granite Pickaxe |
| 5 | From the campfire, go south into the next large area. | Wide open clearing, Rowanberry tree in the middle with red berries. | Axe (optional, for chopping) |
Once you enter that southern clearing, Rowanberries start appearing in bulk. The central Rowanberry tree typically has berries both on its branches and scattered on the snow around it. Clear the area of hostile bugs if needed, then either harvest the drops on the ground or cut the tree down.
Alternative route description and quick landmark
If you navigate more by compass directions than by landmarks, it helps to think of the grove as “bottom left from home, then down past the granite.” From your burrow, aim for the south-west exits whenever you can. When the path splits:
- If you see a large open area but no granite wall yet, keep angling south-west.
- When you finally hit a solid line of Granite boulders across a narrow path, you are at the correct gate.
- After breaking through, the very next screen to the south is the Rowanberry field.
This mental map works even if you don’t remember every twist of the path. As long as you keep pushing bottom-left from your burrow until granite blocks you, you are on track.
How to identify Rowanberry trees
The Rowanberry grove contains various trees and bushes, and it is easy to walk past the right one if you are moving quickly or it is dark. A few visual cues help lock it in:
| Feature | Rowanberry tree | Common confusion |
|---|---|---|
| Bark colour | Light brown trunk and branches. | Darker trunks on pines and other larger trees. |
| Fruit | Small, round, bright red berries in clusters. | Blackberry bushes are low to the ground with darker berries. |
| Height | Small tree, taller than a bush but shorter than big pines. | Bushes and brambles sit much lower. |
| Ground around trunk | Berries scattered on the snow beneath the canopy. | Most other trees don’t have fruit drops nearby. |
You do not need any special tools to pick berries from the ground. An Axe is only required if you want to fell the tree and scoop up everything at once, which can be faster if you are already comfortable with resource cycles and don’t mind re-growing or re-finding trees later.
Rowanberry uses in recipes and quests
Rowanberries show up in two important late-game systems: Bufo’s quests and higher-tier cooking. That is why the grove near Willow is placed behind Granite; it appears after you have already learned basic gathering and tool upgrades.
Rowanberry in jams and pies
The standout use is in Wild Jam and Rowanberry Pie, both part of a cooking chain tied to Bufo. The rough flow looks like this:
| Recipe | Key ingredients | Rowanberry involvement | Where other ingredients come from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Jam | Mix of Elderberries and Blackberries | None, but parallels Wild Jam in structure. | Elderberries near your home; Blackberries around Bufo’s house. |
| Wild Jam | Blueberries and Rowanberries, five of each per batch | Direct: Rowanberries are one of the two main fruits. | Blueberries in the region near Gnawtusk. |
| Rowanberry Pie | Wild Jam plus dough and other baking staples | Indirect: you cannot bake it without Wild Jam. | Hazelnuts from the same left-side area as Rowanberries, for related bakes. |
Bufo eventually asks for two pies: a Blackberry Pie and a Rowanberry Pie. Completing that request is a late step in their questline and leads to a key item for Pollywog. That chain in turn is tied to the “Family Reunion” achievement and access to the best pickaxe blueprint.
Because Wild Jam alone already requires multiple Rowanberries, it is more efficient to plan one or two dedicated runs to the grove and leave with a large stash, rather than grabbing a handful every time you pass through. The grove’s central location and density support this approach well.
How Rowanberries connect to Willow and other NPCs
The grove is more than a berry patch: it is also where you meet Willow, and it anchors several overlapping questlines.
- Willow’s location: Once you are in the Rowanberry field, continue left from the open area to find Willow. Meeting him unlocks a notebook errand near your home and a recipe for a better shovel.
- Shovel upgrade and tunnels: The improved shovel that Willow hands over helps you uncover one of his tunnels near your burrow. Digging there reveals a tree branch and leads to a berry gift you can carry back to Aunty.
- Moss and Aunty: After Willow’s early steps, you eventually need to finish Moss’s quests to obtain a stronger Axe and continue deeper into the forest. That same Axe later breaks obstacles during the endgame repairs for Aunty’s burrow.
The net effect: once you push through to the Rowanberry area and meet Willow, several systems click together. You gain a clear berry farm, a new NPC with tool recipes, and a forward path into the final act’s repairs and family-focused achievements.
Preparation checklist before heading to the Rowanberry grove
The area south-west of your burrow is not especially dangerous, but going in underprepared means extra backtracking. Before making a serious Rowanberry run, it helps to have a few basics lined up.
| Requirement | Why it matters | How you usually obtain it |
|---|---|---|
| Granite Pickaxe | Required to break the Granite boulders blocking the path to the campfire and grove. | Crafted after earlier progression with Bufo and general mining. |
| Reliable warmth (clothing or firewood) | Prevents freezing during the longer trip through multiple areas. | Repaired armchair and early knitting recipes, plus enough fuel for your fireplace. |
| Axe | Chops Rowanberry trees quickly, speeding up harvesting. | Unlocked through basic tool crafting early in the game. |
| Free inventory slots | Lets you bring home a large stack of berries without dropping other resources. | Crafted backpacks from blueprints gained via Bufo and exploration. |
Once the Rowanberry grove is on your map, treat it like any other staple resource zone: visit when you are already heading toward Willow, clear a full stack of berries, and keep some Wild Jam in reserve. Doing so keeps Bufo’s late quests, Rowanberry Pie, and Aunty’s final dinner from turning into a last-minute scramble through the snow.
