The treasure hunt in GTA 5 Online rewards you with a golden revolver and 250,000 GTA dollars. We show you the solution and all locations as well as hints on the map.
What kind of treasure hunt is it? In GTA 5 Online, you can participate in a treasure hunt that rewards you with a cool weapon and a lot of money. Additionally, you will unlock a special weapon in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Update: We have updated the guide for you and included all locations.
GTA 5 Treasure Hunt – Email “Vanderlinde” and Hints
How to start the hunt? On Friday, December 15, 2017, Rockstar officially released the treasure hunt in GTA 5 Online. This is a reference to Red Dead Redemption 2, the western game from Rockstar. An email from the sender “Vanderlinde” explains in-game how you can participate. Van der Linde is the name of the gang you are a part of in Red Dead Redemption 2.
The treasure hunt works only in online sessions. These can be private, public, for friends, or for the crew.
Initially, you are shown an image with a hint to the first target, whose location you need to find. As help, a rough marking is displayed on the map.
Once you find the target, there is a hint in its immediate vicinity. Then the actual scavenger hunt begins with three more targets.
This is how it continues: Three additional targets will be displayed on your map, each of which has a hint. Once you have found all of them, the location of the treasure will be revealed. There you will receive the golden revolver.
Unlock the revolver and the money: With the new revolver, you now have to make 50 headshots. Headshots on civilians and other players count for this.
If you succeed, you unlock an exclusive version of the revolver in Red Dead Redemption 2 and receive 250,000 GTA$. You can earn even more money in these ways:
In the following section, we will show you details about the locations.
Tip: In search of clues, you will go to target areas that you need to search. Pay attention to the game’s sounds. A ringing sound will occur in the target area that becomes faster and louder the closer you get to the target.
Treasure Hunt Guide – All Locations to Find the Treasure
We will now show you a detailed find and then the search image as well as the location of the note of the other places.
How does this guide work? No matter if your find is located at Location 1 or any other number. The three targets on the map that you should search afterward remain the same.
So use this overview to reach the find location from the email and find the note there. Then scroll to the section with the 3 targets, visit them, and then grab the revolver.
Location 1 – Sandy Shores – Boat and Pier
After you have read the email on your smartphone in GTA 5 Online, head to Sandy Shores. There you will find a pier, near which a circle is depicted on the map.
Where is the note? At the end of the pier, looking towards the lake, you will find the sought-after wooden boat on the left side. Stand at the back of the boat and turn around. Among the stones within about a meter, you will find a white paper. This is the start of the scavenger hunt.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 2 – Treasure Hunt at the Bridge by the Pier
This search image sends you to the pier in GTA Online. You travel to the southwest of the map, to Del Perro. Drive right along the pier towards the beach in the direction of the sea. When you transition from wooden floor to sand, you go under the pier.
Where is the note? About halfway under the pier, you will find the note pinned to one of the pillars.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 3 – on Mount Josiah
This search image leads you to Mount Josiah. You will find it in the northwest of the map at Raton Canyon. On the map, you will notice four hiking trails that lead over the mountain. Follow the one that leads straight north towards the river.
Where is the note? At the end of the path, go right past the rock formation until you notice a round solitary stone. The white note is clearly visible on it.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 4 – Vinewood Hills Mountains
In the search image, you initially only see the Vinewood Hills mountains. You will find the sought-after hint at the parking lot with the little house that has a ball on the roof.
Where is the note? Next to the little house with the ball on the roof, you will see a signpost or a large notice board made of wood. The hint note is pinned on the map within it.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 5 – Cemetery (Pacific Bluffs)
The sought cemetery is located in the southwest of the map, near the pier. Near the small pond, you will find the gravestones shown in the search image.
Where is the note? One of the larger gravestones that you can also recognize in the search image is the find location of the note. It is located right by the path near a bench.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 6 – Tongva Hills Vineyards
Travel to the west of the map to the vineyards. You will find them below the military base Fort Zancudo. A road leads through the vineyards. In a curve, where a small creek flows, you will find the hint.
Where is the note? Under the bridge that crosses the creek, you will find the sought note on a stone.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 7 – San Chianski
Travel to this location to the northeastern part of the map, right at the outer end of the solid part of the map. Near Sandy Shores.
Where is the note? The marked location on the map is a kind of observation platform. You will find the note on one of the wooden posts that point towards the pier.
Location 8 – Church / Chapel
The sought chapel is located near the airport in the desert. Quite centrally on the map. It is near a road that splits into various directions there.
Where is the note? You will find the note on one of the graves at the small cemetery in front of the chapel. One gravestone has a large cross on it, against which the note leans.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 9 – Raton Canyon – Image with Bridge
In the northwest of the map, above Raton Canyon, you will find the sought creek. The road forms a kind of M shape there, and the find location lies northeast of it.
Where is the note? You will find the sought note on a tree near the shore. Look from the shore towards the road.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 10 – Tataviam Mountains
The sought location is in the east of the map, off the highway and below the power plant. One of the rocks extends into the water and forms a tunnel.
Where is the note? As you approach the rock’s tunnel from the north, you will find the note on the rock face facing inland.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 11 – At the Desert Airport by the Mine
You can easily find this location by first traveling to Trevor’s airport in the desert. At the marked location on the map, you will find the barricaded entrance to a former shaft.
Where is the note? You will find the note on the boards that barricaded the entrance.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 12 – San Chianski Mountain with Cross
The search image depicts a cross on a mountain, referring to the San Chianski Mountain in the northeast of the map. The find is off the path that leads through the mountain. It is best to arrive by helicopter.
Where is the note? The note hangs on the cross that is also visible in the search image. You will find the cross at the marked spot on the map.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 13 – Golf Club at Rockford Hills
For this hint, travel to the Los Santos golf club, which you find in the lower half of the map near the pier.
Where is the note? The sought bridge in the picture can be found at the lower eastern pond on the golf course. A note is attached to one of the bridge posts.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 14 – At Pacific
The search image shows a small island with a few trees on it. You will find this in the sea to the southeast of the map of GTA Online.
Where is the note? Walk from the middle of this island towards the mainland. On the way, you will find a rock on which the note is attached.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 15 – Paleto Bay – Beach with Broken Bridge
The search image shows a destroyed bridge at a beach. Surely you have been there before. The sought location is in the northwest of the map at Paleto Bay.
Where is the note? You will find the note pinned to one of the broken bridge posts below the bridge.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 16 – Tracks in the Mountains – Great Chaparral
The sought tracks can be found north of Vinewood Hills near Great Chaparral. A winding path runs through the mountain there. Within a curve is the find location.
Where is the note? The note can be found off the road in front of a barricaded entrance to the mountain. In front of that stands a wooden post to which the note is attached.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 17 – Mountains with Observation Platform and Sun in Sandy Shores
You reach this find location in Sandy Shores. The sought observation platform points towards the Alamo Sea. The find location is in the northeast of the map.
Where is the note? On the observation platform there is a wooden sign on which the sought note is attached.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 18 – Mount Chiliad with Signposts
You will find this large mountain in the north of the GTA Online map. Below Paleto Bay and above the desert. Travel to the gondola station at the peak of Mount Chiliad.
Where is the note? When you arrive at the top, you will find a small observation platform with a wooden sign on it. The note is pinned to the wooden sign.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 19 – Tongva Valley at the Vineyard
For this find, you need to travel to the west of the map to the vineyards that you will find below Fort Zancudo. You should search at the point where the small road circles.
Where is the note? You will find the note directly on the sculpture depicted in the search image.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. You can find the three new locations here.
Location 20 – Sandy Shores between Stones
This search image leads you to the desert area in the northeast of the map. Near Trevor’s airfield, you will find the sought location.
Where is the note? This is located near one of the rocks in the search image. It is best to orient yourself to the marked point on the map.
If you examine the paper, three new targets will appear on your map. The three new locations can be found in the following section.
Now find 3 targets – Follow the clues to the solution
Once you have found the note, three targets will now appear on your map. No matter which location you found the note at, these three targets are always the same. So now visit these places to continue the treasure hunt.
Target 1: The first target is near the pier, where you were already able to find a note in Location 1. Travel to the question mark on the map. There you will find a broken wooden hut. In the broken hut, there is a shovel on the ground. That is the sought target.
Target 2: Target number 2 can also be found in Sandy Shores. Fly to the northern question mark and look for a single tree that stands directly by the road. In front of the tree, there is a small box on the ground. That is the second target.
Target 3: The third target is somewhat hidden. Fly into the mountains in the west of the map and keep an eye out for a cave. (I fell off a rock while searching, crashed, and landed right in front of the entrance.) The last target is hidden in the cave.
The find location of the Golden Revolver in GTA Online
Here you will find the revolver: Once you have explored all find locations, you can finally collect the revolver. The location of this weapon will now be displayed and is located at the airport in Sandy Shores. Fly there and collect the revolver.
The Headshot Challenge for the Revolver
This is how it continues: After you find the revolver, you need to make 50 headshots with this weapon. After 10 kills, you will receive a popup message in the game that informs you about the remaining headshots. Kills on other players or even pedestrians and police count.
After completing the headshot challenge, you will be credited with 250,000 GTA dollars. Additionally, you will receive an exclusive weapon in Red Dead Redemption 2.
