Sons of the Forest pickaxe location: cave, route & uses

The pickaxe is one of the key late-game tools in Sons of the Forest: it is the only way to mine Solafite and gild your weapons. It sits deep inside a cave that needs specific gear to get through. Here is the exact location and the route to it.

At a glance

• Cave: the Solafite cave (often called "Cave F" or the pickaxe cave)
• Location: northeast of the island, southeast of the golf course
• Required: rebreather
• Enemies: mutants such as puffies, including spotted ones
• Also in the cave: the Solafite upgrader blueprint and an artifact piece

What you need first

Without the rebreather you won't get far, because the route goes through several flooded tunnels. The rebreather is in the cave on the northernmost beach of the island. Its entrance is boarded up and breaks open with the tactical axe. The stun gun is in the same cave.

The rebreather has to be equipped from the inventory but takes no equipment slot. When its air runs out, it automatically uses a spare air bottle from your inventory, so bring a few.

Where is the pickaxe cave?

The cave is in the northeast of the island, southeast of the golf course and Maintenance Bunker C. Look for two small lakes connected by a river: the entrance is just north of the larger one. Both the entrance and the exit are marked on your GPS from the start.

Note: some guides place the cave in the west of the map. That is wrong, it is in the northeast. The entrance is not a cave mouth but a hole in the ground with a rope you climb down.

Route through the cave to the pickaxe

1. Climb down the rope and follow the narrow corridor straight ahead.
2. Follow the underground stream until the ground drops steeply.
3. Take the rock steps on the right down to the pool. Don't jump.
4. Equip the rebreather and swim through the flooded tunnel.
5. At the fork, left leads to the Solafite upgrader blueprint. For the pickaxe, go past the rock to the right.
6. Go through the broken wooden barriers and slide down the slope into the water.
7. Dive again and keep right at the next junction.
8. You surface in a chamber with three hanging construction workers. To their left, next to a yellow ladder and a light, the pickaxe is stuck in a Solafite deposit.

What is the pickaxe used for?

The pickaxe mines Solafite, the golden ore on cave walls. Right next to the pickaxe you can fill your inventory up to the maximum of 20 ores. You need Solafite for:

• The Solafite upgrader: each weapon costs 6 ores. Melee weapons get about 30% more damage, ranged weapons only get the golden look. The pickaxe itself can be upgraded too.
• The artifact: it is loaded with Solafite to reinforce structures or teleport.

The upgrader takes 4 golf cart batteries, 3 turtle shells, 7 stones, 11 sticks and 3 wires to build. During the upgrade, lightning strikes and a wave of mutants attacks, so get ready before you load the ore.

Caves and upgrades are much easier in co-op with friends. With your own Sons of the Forest server, your world stays online even when the host is offline. New to it? Here is how to join a Sons of the Forest server.