To get through the Lost Woods in the Ocarina of Time remake, follow the music. At each clearing, the melody playing through the woods, Saria’s Song, grows louder toward the exit that leads on to the Sacred Forest Meadow. Take a wrong exit and the woods drop you back at the entrance in Kokiri Forest, so you lose nothing but a little time.
In the 1998 layout, the route from the Kokiri Forest entrance is right, left, right, left, straight, left, right. Director HokWai Ng has said some areas in the remake are laid out “slightly” differently, so treat the music as the real guide and the turns as a check.
Where the Lost Woods Start
The entrance is in Kokiri Forest, Link’s home village: a tunnel on a raised ledge above the village. Climb up to it and walk in, and you arrive in the first clearing of the woods.
Every clearing looks alike, with exits in several directions. That is the point: the woods are a maze without walls.
How to Follow the Music
- Stop in the middle of each clearing. Let the camera settle and listen.
- Turn toward each exit. The melody gets noticeably louder when you face or approach the right one. The remake’s free camera makes this easier than it was in 1998.
- Take the loudest exit. If you end up back at Kokiri Forest, you took a wrong one: return and try again.
- Keep going until you reach the meadow gate. The woods open onto the Sacred Forest Meadow, where a Wolfos guards the way in as young Link.
Headphones help. The cue is in the music, not on screen.
The Route, Turn by Turn
| Clearing | 1998 route |
|---|---|
| 1 (from Kokiri Forest) | Right |
| 2 | Left |
| 3 | Right |
| 4 | Left |
| 5 | Straight ahead |
| 6 | Left |
| 7 | Right, to the meadow |
If a turn in the table seems to lead you astray, trust the music instead.
What You Find in the Sacred Forest Meadow
As young Link, beat the Wolfos at the gate, then thread the hedge maze past the Deku Scrubs to the stone stage at the top. Saria is there, and she teaches you Saria’s Song (R, A, Y, R, A, Y on the remake’s ocarina). Our guide to every ocarina song lists where each one is learned, and our guide on how to get the ocarina covers playing it.
As adult Link, the same route leads back to the meadow on the way to the Forest Temple. Mido blocks the way and lets you by once you play Saria’s Song for him. Our 1998 guide to finding Saria and Forest Temple guide cover that trip in the original.
Other Things in the Woods
- Two Pieces of Heart. Take the first left from Kokiri Forest and play Saria’s Song for the Skull Kid on the stump, and take the right path to the Skull Kids’ song game, where you repeat their tunes. Both are in our Heart Piece guide.
- Gold Skulltulas. Some only come out at night; our Gold Skulltula guide lists them.
- Bugs. The woods have bug spots for your bottles, covered in our bug guide.
Every remake guide is on our Zelda hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get through the Lost Woods in the Ocarina of Time remake? Follow Saria’s Song. It gets louder toward the exit that leads on to the Sacred Forest Meadow.
What is the Lost Woods route? In the 1998 layout: right, left, right, left, straight, left, right from the Kokiri Forest entrance.
What happens if you take a wrong turn? The woods send you back to the entrance in Kokiri Forest. Nothing is lost.
Where is Saria in the remake? On the stone stage at the top of the Sacred Forest Meadow, past the Lost Woods.
Do you have to go through the Lost Woods as adult Link too? Yes. The way to the Forest Temple runs through the woods and the meadow again.