Winter Burrow Pollywog Location – Exact Route from Bufo

Quick answer: where Pollywog is

Pollywog is in a small campfire clearing south of Bufo. Warm up at Bufo’s home, leave by the south-west exit, and follow the water south until the shoreline stops you. Turn left and watch the bottom edge for a pile of ordinary stone boulders. Break that pile and follow the opened route south. In the next area, continue south through tall grass, then move down and right to a hollow log blocked by Granite boulders. Clear those with the Granite Pickaxe and enter the following area. Stay low while moving right, follow the broken log tunnels down and then right, cross one more tall-grass strip, and curve left into Pollywog’s fire clearing. The four screenshots below show the actual quest route; none is a generic community map.

• Start: Bufo’s home, south-west exit.
• First check: stone pile at the bottom edge after following the shoreline south.
• Hard gate: Granite boulders blocking the hollow log.
• Final check: Pollywog seated beside a lit fire with a Talk prompt.

Before leaving Bufo: verify the quest and Granite Pickaxe

Do not start the long southern route until Find Pollywog is active and the Granite Pickaxe is crafted. Bufo unlocks that recipe after An Axe for Bufo. The verified recipe uses 1 Granite, 1 Wool Yarn, 1 Pinewood and 1 Oak Wood. Your first Sandstone Pickaxe is not strong enough for the dark Granite boulders at the hollow log. If the recipe is missing, continue Bufo and Gnawtusk progression before spending supplies on the trip. If the recipe exists but the finished tool is absent, return to the burrow workbench and craft it. Warm fully at Bufo and carry food that supports a long cold-resistance trip; Eurogamer recommends preparing before leaving because the route covers several screens with no shortcut to the final campfire.

• HUD check: Find Pollywog is active.
• Inventory check: the crafted Granite Pickaxe is present, not only its handbook recipe.
• Route check: shoreline, ordinary stone pile, tall grass, Granite log gate, broken logs, campfire.

Step 1: follow the shoreline to the first stone pile

Leave Bufo through the south-west exit and keep the water beside you while moving south. Eventually the terrain prevents you from continuing along the edge. Turn left at that stop, then look toward the bottom of the screen instead of pushing farther west. A rounded pile of ordinary stone boulders blocks the downward passage. This is the pile marked by the first screenshot. Break it, step through the opening, and continue south into the next area. If you find a hollow log immediately, you skipped the first route check; the hollow log comes after another screen and a tall-grass crossing. Keeping these two rock barriers separate prevents the common mistake of testing the Granite Pickaxe on every rock near Bufo.

• Exit Bufo south-west.
• Follow the water south until movement stops.
• Turn left, check the bottom edge, break the ordinary stone pile, and continue south.

Step 2: cross the grass and clear the Granite log gate

After entering the area beyond the first stone pile, continue south until the mouse passes through a tall patch of grass. On the far side, move down and to the right. A hollow log appears at the edge of the route, but dark Granite boulders cover its opening. This is the mandatory tool gate. Select the Granite Pickaxe and break the group; the Sandstone Pickaxe will not clear it. When the opening is visible, pass through and keep heading right into the next area. Use the screenshot as a subject check: the Find Pollywog objective is visible, the dark boulders sit directly over the log mouth, and the arrow points into the blocked passage. If your screen does not match those three details, you are testing a different rock formation.

Step 3: follow the broken logs down and right

In the area beyond the Granite gate, move right while staying near the bottom of the screen. Broken hollow logs form the route: the first opening leads downward, and the next part turns back to the right. Follow the openings instead of the outer snow edge. A Wood Beetle is present near the small opening later in this section, so handle or avoid it according to the game state, then continue south through the tall grass. The broken-log screenshot shows the correct scene and the direction arrows. If you reach open shoreline without seeing this log pattern, return to the Granite gate and re-enter the next area while keeping low. The route to Pollywog is defined by the logs, not by a general “go south” instruction.

Step 4: find Pollywog at the campfire and confirm the task

After the broken logs, go south through the tall grass and curve left. The route opens into a small clearing with a lit campfire. Pollywog is seated beside it. Walk close until the Talk prompt appears and complete the conversation. Do not turn around merely because the character is visible: check that the Find Pollywog objective updates after the dialogue. Use the fire before the return if your warmth is low. Then retrace the same landmarks in reverse: grass, broken logs, cleared hollow-log gate, first stone passage, shoreline, Bufo. Speak to Bufo and finish the follow-up conversation so the quest chain advances. Any recipe or story notification should be confirmed in the HUD or handbook rather than assumed from reaching the clearing alone.

Troubleshooting the Pollywog route

If Find Pollywog is missing, return to Bufo and finish the current dialogue. If the first stone pile cannot be found, repeat the shoreline from Bufo: south until the terrain stops, then left while watching the bottom edge. If the Granite boulders do not react, confirm the finished Granite Pickaxe is selected; owning only the recipe or using the Sandstone tier is not enough. If you lose the route after the log, move back to the lower edge and look for the broken openings that lead down and right. If Pollywog is visible but the objective remains, use the Talk prompt again and let the conversation finish. These checks diagnose quest state, tool state, route state and completion state separately, so you do not waste another full cold trip testing the wrong problem.

• No quest: finish Bufo’s dialogue until Find Pollywog appears.
• No first gate: follow water south, turn left at the stop, scan the bottom edge.
• Granite gate will not break: equip the crafted Granite Pickaxe.
• Lost after the log: stay low and follow broken logs down, then right.
• No completion: talk to Pollywog, verify the task update, then report to Bufo.