How to exit the Shovel Cave in Sons of the Forest

The Shovel Cave in Sons of the Forest might be the one area that you visit the most throughout the course of your run. It does have a lot of goodies, including one of the most important tools in the game. However, getting out can be a bit of a hassle. Here’s our guide on how to exit the Shovel Cave in Sons of the Forest.

Note: For more information, check out our Sons of the Forest guides and features hub.

How to exit the Shovel Cave in Sons of the Forest

The Sons of the Forest Shovel Cave can be seen on the featured image. Basically, if you’re looking at the mountain range in the center of the island, you’ll notice a river that emerges from the middle. The closest cave icon downstream is where you need to go.

Now, even though you already know the location, you still need a couple of items: the Rope Gun/Zipline Gun and the Rebreather. The Rope Gun is for the zipline, allowing you to cross the gap to the opposite side. The Rebreather, meanwhile, lets you swim underwater so you can emerge in another section of the tunnels.

As you continue spelunking, you’ll eventually reach a part where your character would slide all the way down a slope, and there’s no way to get back up. And, as you move on further, you’ll notice a curious-looking wall (make note of this for later).

Screenshot by PC Invasion

Continue deeper into the tunnels. At the very end, you’ll find the Shovel next to a corpse of a maintenance worker. This is where things can get hectic. Basically, as you approach the corpse with the Shovel, the music will change, which signals the appearance of dozens of mutants. You can try to fight all of them, but that would probably be a bad idea. Instead, you’ll want to go back the way you came.

Once you reach the pool of water, you could check the right-hand side. That leads to a small chamber with a dead fella, some cash, and a grenade. You can then jump over the stalagmites, taking you back to the large area with emergency lights.

From there, return to the tunnel with the aforementioned curious-looking wall. Once you go near it, a Sluggy monster will emerge. You can find a bunch of grenades and C4 in the briefcases next to it, allowing you to blow it up.

The tunnel will no longer be barred, creating an exit for the Shovel Cave in Sons of the Forest. Next, you’ll want to sprint past all the evil mutant babies. Safety is just a few meters away, and you’ll finally be back outside. This is how you exit the Shovel Cave in Sons of the Forest.

Note: What happens if you forget to grab an item and you have to return to this location? Well, if that item is found past the sloping path (the one where your character ends up automatically sliding), you’ll have no choice but to go all the way to the corpse with the Shovel. The change in music is the hidden trigger that will cause the Sluggy to spawn in the earlier tunnel (it won’t appear anytime beforehand, even if you revisit the cavern).

Screenshot by PC Invasion

Sons of the Forest is available via Steam.