Getting into the Forest Temple in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time needs two separate things, and both are earned somewhere else entirely.
As a child you need Saria’s Song to get past Mido. As an adult you need the Hookshot to reach the entrance, which is found in a graveyard on the other side of Hyrule.
Getting Through the Lost Woods
The route to the Sacred Forest Meadow is a fixed sequence of exits. From the entrance, take: right, left, right, left, straight, left, right.
Take a wrong turn and the woods loop you back rather than punishing you, so this is a patience problem rather than a difficulty one.
Getting Past Mido
Mido stands in your way and will not move for anything except proof you are a friend of Saria’s.
Play Saria’s Song. He steps aside immediately.
Saria teaches you the song herself in the Sacred Forest Meadow, and she only appears there after you have met Princess Zelda. If Mido is blocking you and you do not have the song, that meeting is the missing step.
The Adult Half: You Need the Hookshot
Return as an adult and the meadow leads to the temple entrance, except the stairs are broken and there is no way up.
The answer is the Hookshot, and it is not in the forest at all. You get it from Dampé the gravekeeper in the Kakariko Graveyard. Enter his tomb, race him, keep up, and he hands it over at the end.
Back at the temple entrance, aim the Hookshot at the tree hanging over the broken stairs. It acts as a stationary target, and latching on pulls you up to the door.
Why People Get Stuck Here
The Forest Temple is the first adult dungeon, and it is the point where the game stops holding your hand about prerequisites. Nothing tells you to go to a graveyard in a different region to get into a forest.
If you are standing at broken stairs with no obvious route, you are not missing a hidden path. You are missing an item.
Tips Most Players Miss
- Learn Saria’s Song early. It costs one child visit and gates the whole area.
- Do Dampé’s race before coming back. Making the Lost Woods trip twice is the most common wasted hour in the game.
- The Lost Woods sequence never changes. Write it down once and it works for the rest of the game.
The Forest Temple is usually the first of the adult dungeons and sets the tone for the rest, including one of the game’s most famous fights later on. Our full Zelda guides cover the series, and if you are here for the Switch 2 version, everything that has changed covers what is different.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Lost Woods route to the Sacred Forest Meadow? Right, left, right, left, straight, left, right.
How do you get past Mido? Play Saria’s Song. He accepts you as a friend of Saria’s and steps aside.
Why can’t I reach the Forest Temple entrance as an adult? The stairs are broken and you need the Hookshot to grapple the tree above them.
Where is the Hookshot? From Dampé the gravekeeper in the Kakariko Graveyard. Enter his tomb and win the race.