ACNH May Day Guide: How to Solve the Maze & Find Rover

The Animal Crossing: New Horizons May Day event has officially returned! From May 1st to May 7th, players have a limited window to escape their daily island routine and tackle one of the most unique challenges in the game. Unlike your standard mystery island tours, the May Day Ticket sends you to a hand-crafted puzzle gauntlet designed to test your survival and crafting instincts.

Whether you are a new arrival or a seasoned island veteran, our Animal Crossing: New Horizons May Day Maze walkthrough will ensure you navigate the layout perfectly, collect every Bell Voucher, and secure your exclusive rewards from the world-traveling cat, Rover.

How to Start the May Day Event

1. Talk to Tom Nook: Visit Resident Services. He will announce the International Workers’ Day celebration and send a May Day Ticket to the airport.
2. Head to the Airport: Speak to Orville, select “I want to fly,” and choose “Use May Day Ticket.”

You cannot bring tools or items from home. Wilbur will store your inventory safely at the dock, and you will start the maze with empty pockets!

2026 Layout Note: Because 2026 is an even year, the maze features the Flat Layout. You won’t need a ladder this time, but your success depends entirely on how you manage your Axe durability and Fruit consumption.

How to Get Through the May Day Maze

Follow these precise steps to navigate the flat maze without getting stuck. Remember, if you make a mistake, you can always call Rescue Services on your NookPhone to reset!

1. Walk forward and grab the Shovel. Use it on the shrub to the left to get a Fruit. Eat the fruit.
2. Return to where you got the shovel, dig up the tree to the north, and head through the opening to the “+” shaped water hole. Jump across the hole to continue north.
3. Take the first right and jump across the three holes to reach 3x Wood. Pick them up.
4. Move west of the wood, then go up and west to reach a Stick. Pick it up, then head down and east.
5. Jump across the three holes to pick up 3x Sticks and 1x Stone. Grab the Worn Axe tool located just south of the middle hole.
6. Take the Worn Axe and use it to cut down the tree north of the stick you picked up in Step 4. Shovel the stump and grab the Stick and 2x Fruit behind it.
7. Double back to the three holes and jump over the far east hole to reach the rock. Eat a fruit and shovel the rock to grab the Iron Ore.
8. Head back through the previous paths to reach the rock blocking the DIY area. Eat a fruit and shovel the rock. Grab the Fruit and the DIY Recipes for the Flimsy Axe and the Standard Axe.
9. Eat the fruit you just picked up and dig the tree out of the way to reach the Workbench. Craft the Flimsy Axe, then use your Iron Ore to craft the Standard Axe.
10. Head back to the “+” hole and go west. Jump south across the hole and chop down the tree to grab the 2x Fruit there.
11. From that spot, head north and follow the path back toward the northeast corner. Cut down the tree blocking your path, jump across the two holes, and chop down the final three trees to reach Rover.

How to Find All 9 Bell Vouchers

Finding Rover is only half the battle. If you want to maximize your trip, you need to hunt down all nine Bell Vouchers hidden on the island. Four are easy to spot, but the final five require some clever backtracking.

The Easy Vouchers (1–4)

Once you finish the maze and reach the end, look directly behind Rover.

• Location: There are several bushes located just north of Rover’s seating area.
• How to get them: Simply use your shovel to dig up the bushes. The first four Bell Vouchers are sitting right there on the ground for the taking.

The “Secret” Vouchers (5–9)

The final five vouchers are hidden in the bottom-left (Southwest) corner of the map, behind three rocks.

• The Shortcut: Don’t try to go back through the maze. Instead, look at the bushes near the trees just above Rover. Dig those up to create a path that lets you walk along the outside edge of the island.
• The Path: Run all the way down the left-hand side of the island until you reach the very bottom-left corner.
• The Rocks: You will see three rocks blocking the final vouchers.
• The Payoff: Eat your remaining 3x Fruit to smash the rocks with your shovel. Dig up the bushes and collect the final five Bell Vouchers.

If you accidentally ate your fruit earlier in the maze and can’t break the rocks, you will need to call Rescue Services on your NookPhone to reset the entire maze. You cannot bring fruit back from your home island!

This is part of our Animal Crossing: New Horizons wiki. Check it out for more help with the game!

May Day Rewards: What You Get for Solving the Maze

After successfully navigating the maze and speaking with Rover, your work is done—but you won’t find your prizes in your pockets just yet. To keep the event fair, Wilbur ensures that everything you’ve earned is safely delivered to your mailbox on your home island the very next morning.

Exclusive Rover Collectibles

Depending on how many May Day events you have participated in previously, Rover will gift you one of two rare items. These are highly sought after by collectors because they cannot be ordered from the Nook Shopping catalog!

• Rover’s Briefcase: This is the standard reward for players completing the maze for the first time. It is a beautiful, static furniture piece that looks great in a travel-themed room or near your airport.
• Rover’s Photo: If you have already completed the May Day maze in a previous year and already own the briefcase, Rover will send you his signed photo. Just like villager photos, this can be displayed on tables or hung on your wall.

The Bell Voucher “Jackpot”

If you followed our steps to collect all 9 Bell Vouchers, you are looking at a significant payday.

• The Total Value: Each Bell Voucher sells for 3,000 Bells at Nook’s Cranny.
• The Payout: Turning in all 9 vouchers will net you a clean 27,000 Bells.

If you are still in the early phases of our Island Architect Guide, this 27k is the perfect amount to pay off a significant chunk of your first bridge or incline!

Did you land the Briefcase or the Photo? Let us know in the comments below!