Difficulty: High, very time-consuming
Updated: October 2024
Checklist:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/15BM-7A9FSsFtt_gpDCaW...Many thanks to
Sashamorning for the original guide to this achievement on the trueachievements website and
ShadowLordXZ for his Bleak Inlet update. With the many updates to the game over the years, it seemed time for an up-to-date guide that 1) adds Ash Canyon and 2) updates approximately 40 locations that have changed or been renamed since sasha's guide was released.
I've also created a public Google Sheets file with a printable (3 pages) checklist of all locations along with tabs for each individual region with the most up-to-date map I could find. Link near the top of this guide.
Note that as of this guide's publication date, Blackrock is not required to visit or map for this achievement. None of the DLC locations are either. If future locations are added, I will update this guide accordingly ASAP.
Ash Canyon*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - Gold Mine (requires a rope to access)
Icon - To Cave System (Timberwolf Mtn)
Icon - To Timberwolf Mountain
Location Trigger Bitter Marsh
Location Trigger Broad Falls
Location Trigger Fire Overlook
Location Trigger Foreman's Retreat
Location Trigger High Meadow
Location Trigger Homesteader's Respite
Location Trigger Miner's Folly
Location Trigger Mining Camp
Location Trigger Narrow Falls Cave
Location Trigger Pillar's Footrest
Location Trigger Runaway Bridge
Location Trigger Shattered Cove
Location Trigger Stone Shelf Cave
Location Trigger Wolf's Jaw Overlook
Bleak Inlet*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - To Cave System (Forlorn Muskeg)
Icon - To Ravine
Icon - Echo One Radio Tower
Icon - Fallen Lighthouse
Icon - Last Resort Cannery
Icon - Workshop
Location Trigger Cannery Worker Residences
Location Trigger Coastal Highway Terminus
Location Trigger Frozen Delta
Location Trigger Landslide
Location Trigger Long Bridge
Location Trigger Lower Raven Falls
Location Trigger Pensive Lookout
Location Trigger Raven Crossing
Location Trigger Ravine’s End Waterfall
Location Trigger Summit at Ravine’s End
Location Trigger Washed Out Trailers
Broken Railroad*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - Hunting Lodge
Icon - Maintenance Shed
Icon - To Forlorn Muskeg
Location Trigger Broken Bridge
Location Trigger Hunter's Blind
Location Trigger Landslide
Location Trigger Locomotive Engine
Location Trigger Rickety Foot Bridge
Coastal Highway*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - Abandoned Lookout
Icon - Quonset Garage
Icon - To Abandoned Mine (Pleasant Valley)
Icon - To Crumbling Highway
Icon - To Ravine
Location Trigger Bear Creek Campground
Location Trigger Coastal Townsite
Location Trigger Commuter's Lament
Location Trigger Fishing Camp
Location Trigger Jackrabbit Island
Location Trigger Log Sort
Location Trigger Misanthrope's Homestead
Location Trigger Rabbit Grove
Location Trigger Rockfall
Location Trigger Silent Clearing
Location Trigger The Tooth
Location Trigger Train Unloading
Location Trigger Waterfront Cottages
Desolation Point*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - Hibernia Processing
Icon - Lonely Lighthouse
Icon - Stone Church
Icon - The Riken
Icon - To No. 3 Coal Mine (Crumbling Highway)
Location Trigger Blocked Highway
Location Trigger Broken Bridge
Location Trigger Katie's Secluded Corner
Location Trigger Little Island
Location Trigger Matt's Truck
Location Trigger Waterfall
Forlorn Muskeg*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - Poacher's Camp
Icon - Shortwave Tower
Icon - Shortwave Tower
Icon - Shortwave Tower
Icon - To Broken Railway
Icon - To Cave System (Bleak Inlet)
Icon - To Mountain Town (Milton)
Icon - To Mystery Lake
Location Trigger Bunkhouses
Location Trigger Hat Creek
Location Trigger Marsh Ridge
Location Trigger Muskeg Overlook
Location Trigger Old Spence Family Homestead
Location Trigger Waterfall
Hushed River Valley*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - To Cave System (Mountain Town)
Location Trigger Banner Falls
Location Trigger Cloudtop Falls
Location Trigger Hushed River
Location Trigger Lake Cave
Location Trigger Landslide
Location Trigger Little Bear and Cub Falls
Location Trigger Lonely Cave
Location Trigger Long Shot Falls
Location Trigger Mammoth Falls
Location Trigger Many Falls Vista
Location Trigger Monolith Lake
Location Trigger Moose Overlook
Location Trigger Mysterious Signal Fire
Location Trigger Offset Falls
Location Trigger Peak Cave
Location Trigger Pensive Vista
Location Trigger Quarrelling Falls
Location Trigger Reclusive Falls
Location Trigger Stairsteps Lake
Location Trigger Twin Sisters Falls
Location Trigger Valley Cave
Location Trigger Valley View Point
Location Trigger Watchful Falls
Mountain Town (Milton)*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - Crashed Plane
Icon - Hermit's Cabin
Icon - To Cave System (Mystery Lake)
Icon - To Cave System (Hushed River Valley)
Icon - To Forlorn Muskeg
Icon - Orca Gas Station
Icon - Paradise Meadows Farm
Icon - Spruce Falls Bridge
Icon - St. Christopher’s Church
Location Trigger Crashed Prison Transport Bus
Location Trigger Graveyard
Location Trigger Milton Basin
Location Trigger Milton Park
Location Trigger Old Schoolhouse
Location Trigger Picnic Area
Location Trigger Radio Tower
Location Trigger Rocky Refuge
Location Trigger The Arch
Location Trigger Town of Milton
Location Trigger Wood Lot
Location Trigger Wood Lot
Location Trigger Wood Lot
Mystery Lake*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - Camp Office
Icon - Carter Hydro Dam
Icon - Forestry Lookout
Icon - To Cave System (Mountain Town)
Icon - To Forlorn Muskeg
Icon - To Ravine
Icon - Trapper's Homestead
Location Trigger Alan's Cave
Location Trigger Clearcut
Location Trigger Dave's Quiet Clearing
Location Trigger Deadfall Area
Location Trigger Derailment
Location Trigger Destroyed Lookout
Location Trigger Frozen Creek
Location Trigger Ice Fishing Huts
Location Trigger Lake Overlook
Location Trigger Lake Trail
Location Trigger Logging Camp
Location Trigger Max's Last Stand
Location Trigger Rail Tunnel
Location Trigger Train Loading Area
Location Trigger Unnamed Pond
Pleasant Valley*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - Barn
Icon - Community Hall
Icon - Farmhouse
Icon - Signal Hill
Icon - Three Strikes Farmstead
Icon - To Abandoned Mine (Coastal Highway)
Icon - To Cave System (Mystery Lake)
Icon - To Keeper's Pass South (Blackrock)
Icon - To Timberwolf Mountain
Location Trigger Burned Ridge Cave
Location Trigger Cascading Falls
Location Trigger Contemplation Bridge
Location Trigger Derelict Cabins
Location Trigger End of the Road
Location Trigger Heartbreak Bridge
Location Trigger Hilltop Cave
Location Trigger Lonely Homestead
Location Trigger Long Curve
Location Trigger Lower Falls
Location Trigger Misty Falls Picnic Area
Location Trigger Pensive Pond
Location Trigger Picnic Spot
Location Trigger Point of Disagreement
Location Trigger Skeeter's Ridge
Location Trigger Thompson's Crossing
Location Trigger Upper Falls
Timberwolf Mountain*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Icon - Mountaineer's Hut
Icon - Tail Section
Icon - To Cave System (Ash Canyon)
Icon - To Cave System (Black Rock)
Icon - To Pleasant Valley
Icon - Wing
Icon - Wing
Location Trigger Andre's Peak
Location Trigger Crystal Lake
Location Trigger Deer Clearing
Location Trigger Echo Peak East
Location Trigger Echo Peak West
Location Trigger Echo Ravine
Location Trigger Engine
Location Trigger Engine
Location Trigger Eric's Falls
Location Trigger Landing Gear
Location Trigger Secluded Shelf
Location Trigger Summit
Transition Zones (Crumbling Highway, Ravine, Winding River*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Crumbling Highway
Icon - To Coastal Highway
Icon - To No. 3 Coal Mine (Desolation Point)
Location Trigger Abandoned Harris Home
Location Trigger Road Collapse
Location Trigger The Arch
Ravine
Icon - To Bleak Inlet
Icon - To Coastal Highway
Icon - To Mystery Lake
Location Trigger Ravine Basin
Location Trigger Raven Falls Trestle
Winding River
Icon - Carter Hydro Dam
Icon - To Cave System (to PV)
Tips: I recommend not attempting this until you have played the game quite a bit and are relatively familiar with most of the areas. I'd also suggest pairing this with the other time-intensive achievements (Skilled Survivor, The Will to Live) as it will give you something to do while trying to survive 500 days. For reference, on a playthrough with several badges active and Voyager difficulty, this took 93 in-game days to complete. On a more recent playthrough with no badges active and Voyager difficulty, it took 135. I have approximately 1500 hours in this game across multiple platforms, so it could definitely take 150-200 days for less experienced/more cautious players.
Suggested Pathway: There's no "correct" way to map all locations, but included in the spoiler below is the pathway I took when completing this most recently. It attempts to minimize backtracking as much as possible, though some is inevitable.
*** Spoiler - click to reveal ***tl;dr PV -> WR -> ML -> Ravine -> CoH -> CrH ->DP -> CrH -> CoH -> PV -> TWM -> AC -> TWM -> PV -> ML -> Ravine -> BI -> FM -> ML -> MT ->HRV -> MT -> FM -> BR
1) Start in Pleasant Valley. Don't worry about mapping anything yet, just get to Thompson's Crossing, the Crashed Airplane and/or the Farmhouse as fast as possible and grab whatever loot you can use.
2) Once you've hit at least 2 of the hot loot spots in PV, head to Mystery Lake via the Winding River. Map both locations in the Winding River.
3) Loot the Dam in ML. If you don't have great clothing yet, head to the Camp Office and loot that along with the cabins around the lake. If you have decent clothing after looting the dam, head straight to Coastal Highway via the Ravine. Map 3 of the 5 locations in the Ravine, keeping a close eye out for a Mountaineering Rope and setting it up at the spot near the Fallen Tree Bridge. Don't go down there for now.
4) Head towards Desolation Point via the south of CH, mapping all locations as you go. You'll finish CH after DP, so don't worry about that yet. You should have 11 locations in CH before heading to DP via the Crumbling Highway.
5) Map all 5 locations on the Crumbling Highway as you head towards DP. Map all 8 locations in Desolation Point, then return to CH and map the remaining 7 locations there, ending at the Cinder Hills Coal Mine.
6) Once in Pleasant Valley, map every location you can along the way to the Timberwolf Mountain access point.
7) Map the lower half of TWM (11 locations), making your way to the Ash Canyon entrance near the Deer Clearing.
8) AC is a bit of a beast. Map along the western side making a beeline to the Gold Mine for the Technical Backpack (increases carrying capacity significantly). From the gold mine, map along the northern and eastern edges of the map, before mapping the interior locations. Once you have 19 locations mapped, head to the SE exit, map it to finish AC, then return to TWM.
9) Map the remaining 8 spots in TWM, then head to PV and map everything there you are still missing while making your way back to ML via the Winding River.
10) Immediately head to the Ravine and drop down the rope you set up earlier. Map the remaining two locations to finish that transition zone while heading towards Bleak Inlet.
11) Map the four locations at the top of Bleak Inlet. Find the Mountaineer's Rope (usually in the Pensive Lookout), then climb down and head NE. Map the rest of BI, making your way from east to south, to west, then back north to exit at the Forlorn Muskeg cave.
12) Head NE to Mystery Lake, mapping 5 locations on the east side of FM. Once in ML, finish mapping any locations left here, ending at the Cave System near the Trappers Cabin. Head to Mountain Town.
13) Once in MT, map your way towards the Orca Gas Station (4 locations), loop SE and go through the Arch and map the town and Old Schoolhouse (6 locations, 10 total). Map the Northern part of the map, skipping the Hushed River Valley cave system for now, looping back to town via the Radio Tower, after going East to get the Crashed Plane. Work your way back north and head to HRV. You should have 17 locations mapped before leaving MT for now.
14) HRV is another complex area with a variety of ways to approach it. If you can see the Mysterious Signal Fire at the SE location, I'd head there first, mapping that and the Lonely Cave. Otherwise, I'd suggest mapping along the Western part of the map first (6 locations) and one interior spot (Valley View Point), making your way north to the climbing spot near Mammoth Falls. If the Signal Fire is in the middle of the map, head south after this climb to get it now.
Map the northern waterfalls, lake and caves (7 locations) and then head towards the Pensive vista (location 15 or 17 if you did the Signal Fire and Lonely Cave to start). Climb down two ropes then map the Eastern and remaining interior locations, finishing with a climb up to Many Falls Vista. Escape this area back to Mountain Town.
15) Back in MT, head West towards Paradise Meadows Farm. You should have 18 locations after mapping the farm. Climb down towards Milton Basin and map the last 4 areas here. Note that Milton Basin often does not trigger until you are closer to the island near the Hermit's Cabin. Exit towards Forlorn Muskeg.
16) Back in FM, map the 5 locations in the NW, then head south along the western edge to map the 3 locations in the SW part of the map (Old Spence Family Homestead, Bunkhouses, Shortwave Tower #3). Exit towards Broken Railroad.
17) We're almost done! BR is a pretty straightforward map. Hit the 3 locations on the way towards the Broken Bridge, then map the Maintenance Shed (5 done). Hit the Hunter's Blind across the lake, then take the path right of that up the mountain to the Hunting Lodge. From there, head along the back edge of the map to get the Rickety Foot Bridge. Congrats, you are finished!