The Poisonous Trail Treasure

The Poisonous Trail is a unique set of treasure maps in that you cannot buy the starter map anywhere, nor will anyone tell you about it. Instead, you will have to stumble upon it in the wilderness, and the following maps will take you all across the lands in Read Dead 2.

Poisonous Trail Map 1[edit]

To locate the first map, head up to the West Grizzles where Chapter 1 of the game took place, and head southeast from the town of Colter you were holed up in to the small Cairn Lake.

Enter the Cairn Lake Lodge, and look under the bed for a lockbox you can loot – which will contain the Poisonous Trail Map 1.

The Map features an iconic looking rock face that looks like a head, with a path leading to the right winding past trees to the treasure.

You’ll find this geographical feature in the state of Lemoyne, North of Rhodes, and North of the Hill Haven Ranch along the road up in the Scarlett Meadows.

Look for the Face Rock on the left side of the road as you go northwest of Hill Haven Ranch.

Consult the map and go right from the rock face past a tree and down a slope.

Here you will see a withered tree trunk, and a fallen log behind it.

Search behind the withered tree trunk to find a hole at the base you can inspect to find the next map piece.

Poisonous Trail Map 2[edit]

Upon finding the treasure map at the Face Rock in Scarlett Meadows, you will have your next clue. The map will feature a snake-like formation, and a mound with rocks where the treasure is located.

You can find this geoglyph in lower Roanoke Ridge in New Hanover, just to the west of the Van Horn Trading Post along the lower road going towards the Kamassa River.

Halfway along the road to the river past the train tracks, head south up the hill to find an abandoned tower you can climb.

At the top, look down on the hillside to spot the geoglyph of the snake, which Arthur will draw in his journal.

At the top of the hill is the circular end of the snake with a rocky mound in the middle.

Climb down into the mound and inspect the hole to get the next treasure map.

advertisement

Poisonous Trail Map 3[edit]

The final map you find at the Snake Geoglyph points to the location of treasure in a hidden cave. The map depicts a waterfall with a passage behind it, and a secret tunnel off to the right leading to treasure.

Move north of the Snake Geoglyph up to the Elysian Pool in New Hanover‘s central Roanoke Ridge.

At the north end of the pool where the river empties out you will find a large waterfall.

Leave your horse behind and jump headfirst into the waterfall, only to find a secret passage into a large cave system on the other side.

As you move deeper past the initial cave tunnel, ignore the rest of the cave on the map, and look down on the right in the first large corridor for a small slope down to a pit.

At the bottom of the pit, check the wall on the right for a small hole to crawl through into a new area.

The next part has a crossroads with two paths – and by consulting your map you’ll find that going right is the correct choice. You can also find an abandoned campsite here with a lockbox that holds some valuables.

Moving past the campsite, you’ll come out onto a ledge. Look to the left with your lantern to find a pit below you, and a lower ledge on the left that you must run to (tap the run button to build speed) and then jump across to land safely.

After landing on the lower ledge, look for a long slope on the other side to fall down to a dead end with some water, and a pile of rocks on the left.

Climb up and inspect the large rock pile to find at last the treasure of The Poisonous Trail – 4 Gold Bars, which sell for $500 a piece at your local Fence!