Winter Burrow Willow Location Quest - Notebook, Tunnel, and Return Checks

Quick answer: where Willow is

Willow is in a small western dead end in the White Pillars region. You need the Granite Pickaxe from Bufo's progression before the route opens. From the burrow, go down-left and take the west exit. Follow the path and use the Granite Pickaxe on the rocks blocking the next exit into White Pillars. From that region entrance, move straight down into the larger area, continue down-left, and look for another west exit. The short dead end contains Willow beside their burrow and open notebook. Speak until Find Willow's Notebook appears. Do not search for the notebook beside Willow: after accepting the task, return to your own burrow. The item appears outside near the unusual patch that later becomes the tunnel dig point.

• Required access: Granite Pickaxe and the west route into White Pillars.
• Region route: White Pillars entrance -> down -> larger area -> down-left -> west dead end.
• NPC check: Willow is beside their burrow with a large open notebook.
• First objective: Find Willow's Notebook sends you back toward home.

Notebook Step

Return to the burrow after Willow asks for the Notebook. The item is on the snow outside, near the small strange-looking ground patch used by the next quest. In the screenshot, the large arrow points to the pickup area; use the home location and visible object together rather than treating the arrow as a map coordinate. Pick up the Notebook, then make the return trip to Willow and finish the full conversation. The hand-in changes the objective to Find Another Tunnel Entrance and awards the Flint Shovel blueprint. If the Notebook is no longer on the ground but the objective has not changed, check inventory and speak to Willow again. Do not start digging while Find Willow's Notebook is still active, because the tunnel interaction belongs to the next state.

Tunnel Step

Find Another Tunnel Entrance begins when the Notebook hand-in is complete. Willow gives the Flint Shovel blueprint; return home, open the Woodwork menu, and craft that exact shovel. Go back outside to the area where the Notebook was found. The quest tracker should say Find One of Willow's tunnels. Use the Flint Shovel on the unusual ground patch, then approach the dark round opening that appears among the rocks and inspect it immediately. The Steam FAQ documents a case where an excavated tunnel can become inactive if it is not inspected right away. That is why the order matters: dig, interact, then leave. If the recipe is absent, return to Willow and finish the Notebook conversation. If the shovel is crafted but the patch does not react, verify the tunnel objective is active and the Flint Shovel is selected.

• Notebook hand-in -> Flint Shovel blueprint.
• Woodwork menu -> craft the Flint Shovel.
• Home-side patch -> dig while Find One of Willow's tunnels is active.
• Dark round opening -> inspect immediately before leaving or sleeping.

Later Willow step: the Mole Artifact is a different route

After reporting the tunnel, continue A Berry? and the later Moss/Aunty progress until Willow gives Find a Mole Artifact. This is not another home-side dig. Leave Willow through the bird nest exit, cut the thick eastern vines with the Flint Axe, pass the spider, and follow tall grass south to a dead end. The Mole Artifact is the half-buried ancient helmet shown below. Interact until Find Mole artifact turns green and Talk to Willow appears. Then return to Willow for the backpack design reward. Use /articles/winter-burrow-mole-artifact for the complete route, hand-in image, reward, and missing-item fix. Keeping the Notebook/tunnel trip and Mole Helmet trip separate is the fastest way to avoid following the right landmark for the wrong objective.

Common Wrong Turns

If Willow is missing, you probably have not reached the west dead end in White Pillars or the Granite Pickaxe gate is still closed. If the Notebook is missing beside Willow, that is expected: the item appears outside your own burrow after the task starts. If the Flint Shovel recipe is missing, return the Notebook and finish Willow's dialogue. If the home patch will not dig, confirm Find One of Willow's tunnels is active and select the crafted Flint Shovel. If the exposed tunnel later stops responding, the known inactive-tunnel bug may apply. If you are searching a spider thicket while the HUD still names Notebook or Tunnel, you have mixed in the later Mole Artifact route. Each state has one visible completion signal; use that signal before moving on.

When to Switch Guides

Stay on this Willow location page while the problem is reaching White Pillars, finding Willow, or understanding the order of their first objectives. Open /articles/winter-burrow-shovel-tunnel-map when the exact blocker is the Flint Shovel recipe, the home-side patch, the interaction prompt, or the inactive-tunnel bug. Open /articles/winter-burrow-mole-artifact only after Find a Mole Artifact appears. Use /articles/winter-burrow-walkthrough when you need Willow placed against Bufo, Moss, Aunty, and the ending rather than a screen-by-screen route.

Quick Verification

Willow found: they are visible beside the burrow and open notebook in the White Pillars dead end. Notebook found: the item leaves the snow outside home and can be returned. Notebook handed in: Find Another Tunnel Entrance appears and the Flint Shovel recipe unlocks. Tunnel dug: a dark round entrance appears among the rocks and shows an interaction prompt. Artifact found later: the helmet inspection text appears and Talk to Willow replaces the pickup objective. Backpack reward received: Crafting unlocked displays the backpack design. These are the checks worth recording; general scenery and resource pickups do not prove a quest step.