How to Get the Golden Pumpkin in Stardew Valley: Spirit's Eve Maze Route for Odd and Even Years

The Spirit's Eve maze hides a Golden Pumpkin in odd years and a Prize Ticket in even years. Here's the exact route for both, plus what the pumpkin is worth.

Every Fall, Pelican Town turns spooky for one night. Spirit's Eve is Stardew Valley's Halloween festival, and tucked behind the jack-o'-lanterns is a haunted hedge maze with a treasure chest at the end. In your first year that chest holds the Golden Pumpkin – a 2,500g prize that doubles as one of the best gifts in the game. Since version 1.6, though, the maze changes depending on the year, and the route that worked last time won't get you there now.

Here's when the festival runs, how to reach the chest in both layouts, and what to do with your reward.

Requirements and timing

There are no quests or friendship requirements. Just show up in town during the evening window. Arrive at 11:50 pm and you're too late. The clock stops once you're in, so the maze has no time limit, and when you leave town you're sent home at midnight.

A Glow Ring or any other light source is optional but useful. Part of the route runs through a dark cave where it's easy to lose track of your character.

How to get the Golden Pumpkin (odd years)

The year-one maze is small and nearly linear. The wiki's advice to "just keep on going left" really does get you most of the way.

1. Enter the maze at its entrance just north of Pierre's festive booth.
2. Follow the path left and up. There are only a few dead ends, so if you hit one, backtrack and take the other turn.
3. Find the wooden "?" signpost in the northwest corner of the maze. This is the key landmark.
4. Walk through the hedge just below and to the left of the signpost. It looks solid, but it's a hidden gap.
5. Head north into the cave. It's dark, and the path weaves left and right as it goes. Keep pushing right (east). If you can't see yourself, take small steps and watch for your character's outline.
6. Exit into the treasure section and open the chest to claim the Golden Pumpkin.
7. Take the minecart after the chest if you don't want to walk back. The "secret shortcut" returns you to the entrance by Pierre's booth. Patch 1.6.3 added it to the year-one layout.

The even-year maze (Prize Ticket)

Version 1.6 gave the maze a new layout from year 2 onward. In even years it's bigger and trickier, and the chest holds a Prize Ticket instead of a Golden Pumpkin. The two layouts then alternate: Golden Pumpkin in odd years, Prize Ticket in even ones.

1. Go to the first "?" signpost and slip through the hidden gap below and to the left of it, just like in the odd-year maze.
2. Follow the path past Sebastian. Villagers are scattered through the maze, and they double as landmarks.
3. Look for an unmarked secret passage in the top-right corner. It leads to the section where Sam and Vincent are standing. If you see them, you're on the right track.
4. Find the chicken-legged house. Behind it, to the right of a sign, are three hidden passages.
5. Take the middle one. It's the only one that reaches the treasure section. Open the chest for your Prize Ticket.

Spend the ticket at the Prize Machine in Mayor Lewis's house. If you really want another Golden Pumpkin, you'll have to wait for an odd year or get lucky with Artifact Troves (more on that below).

What to do with the Golden Pumpkin

The pumpkin has three good uses. Which one is best depends on where your farm is at.

• Gift it. Since patch 1.3.27, the Golden Pumpkin has been a universally loved gift. That makes it a big friendship boost for almost anyone, and it's a strong pick for a hard-to-please villager or a birthday you'd otherwise miss.
• Sell it for 2,500g. Pierre won't buy it, so it has to go in the shipping bin on your farm. In year one, 2,500g is a nice boost toward Fall seeds or a building upgrade.
• Make a Witch Hat. Feed the pumpkin into the sewing machine in Emily and Haley's house at 2 Willow Lane and you can tailor a Witch Hat, the most fitting outfit for the festival itself. It also works as a yellow dye in the dye pots in the same house.

It isn't needed for any Community Center bundle or quest, so you're free to spend it however you like.

Other ways to get one

If you've missed the odd-year festival, Artifact Troves have a 3.7% chance to contain a Golden Pumpkin. Have Clint break them open at the Blacksmith. It's a long shot, so treat any pumpkin you get this way as a bonus.

Pierre's Spirit's Eve shop

Before or after the maze, check Pierre's booth. It only sells these items during the festival:

Rarecrow collectors should grab #2 here. Missing it means waiting another full year.

Common mistakes

• Showing up too late. The festival window closes at 11:50 pm, not midnight. Set off from the farm with time to spare.
• Using the wrong year's route. A Year 1 walkthrough won't help in Year 2. Check the year on your calendar, then pick the right section above.
• Getting lost in the dark cave. It isn't a timed section, so slow down. A Glow Ring makes it much easier.
• Trying to sell the pumpkin to Pierre. Use the shipping bin instead.
• Picking the wrong gap at the chicken-legged house. In even years, only the middle of the three passages leads to the chest.

Quick recap

Head into Pelican Town between 10:00 pm and 11:50 pm on Fall 27. Find the "?" sign in the maze and slip through the hedge below and to its left. In odd years, cross the dark cave to the east for the Golden Pumpkin. In even years, go past Sebastian, through the top-right gap, past Sam and Vincent, and take the middle passage behind the chicken-legged house for a Prize Ticket. Then decide whether the pumpkin pays for seeds, wins over a villager, or becomes a very seasonal hat.

This article was written by AI (Claude) and checked against the sources above. Games are updated regularly, so details may change.