May Day, like Nature Day, is a limited-time event that takes place during spring in Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
To celebrate May Day, Tom Nook has built a special May Day maze out on one of the deserted islands. The Maze in 2022 might be familar if you were playing New Horizons back in 2020.
If you complete the May Day maze, there is an additional set of puzzles to unlock some Bell Vouchers, which this page can guide you to. If you get stuck, know you’ll need to restart the maze and try again - which we’ll also go through if you need it.
On this page:
- May Day 2022 maze solution in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- May Day 2022 dates in Animal Crossing: New Horizons explained
- How to start the May Day tour in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- How to complete the May Day 2021 maze in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- How to restart the May Day maze in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
May Day 2022 maze solution in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
If you’re returning to do the May Day event in 2022, then the maze may look familar to you. This is because it’s the maze design from 2020!
Arriving on the special May Day island in New Horizons, you’ll discover that it’s less of a relaxing celebration and more of a maze.
To solve this maze, you not only have to discover the correct route through its twisting hedges, but also correct materials hidden around the island to create the tools you need to progress. We recommend picking up every time you see on your journey through the maze, so that you don’t have to backtrack.
Be warned - below you’ll find directions on how to solve the May Day maze, which does contain spoilers, so, if you want to solve it unassisted, then don’t read on.
Your quest to solve the May Day maze begins by picking up the shovel and using it to dig up the bush to your left, which will allow you to pick up the fruit kept behind it. This fruit will also be the native fruit of your island.
Eat the fruit and use the shovel to scoop up the nearby tree into your inventory.
The May Day maze is full of holes that you need to jump over. To do this you simply need to walk up to them and then continue walking - your avatar will simply automatically jump over the hole for you.
The first hole you need to jump over is directly north of you and, following this one, you need to jump across the three holes in a row to your right. This will bring you to three pieces of wood that you need to pick up.
Continue following the path along, jumping over the holes as you come across. Eventually you’ll find yourself back in the centre of the maze, but this time you’ll be above the three hole in a row.
Jump across the third and furthest hole first to collect some materials, before jumping back across.
Next, jump across the middle hole to find a second tree branch and a Worn Axe.
After gaining these items, you need to jump back across the hole and retrace your steps to the west, until you reach a tree in the top north-western corner.
Here you need to chop down this tree using your Worn Axe, which will break it, and use the shovel to remove the tree stump. Grab the tree branch and the two pieces of fruit that you gain access to, before heading back to the centre of the maze.
Finally, you can jump across the first hole out of the three-in-a-row and take the westerly path it puts you on.
You’ll reach a rock that you need to break. To do this eat one of your pieces of fruit by selecting it in your inventory and then choosing the option eat. Now all you have to do is hit the rock with your shovel and it will shatter into pieces, allowing you to collect the iron nugget on the other side.
It’s time to retrace your steps again! Head back to where you collect the three pieces of wood and you’ll find another rock for you to smash.
Once the rock is destroyed, pick up the fruit and, if you don’t already know them, the DIY recipes for the Flimsy Axe and Axe.
Continue down the pathway, until your way is blocked by another tree, which you can shovel up after eating your new piece of fruit.
This will grant you access to the DIY workbench, where you can use the materials you’ve gathered to make a Flimsy Axe, which can then be upgraded to an Axe.
We recommend that you now head back to the three-holes-in-a-row and jump across them, until you reach a tree. Chop this tree with your new axe and collect the fruit on the other side - you’ll be wanting this fruit later.
After doing this, jump over the hole directly to the north of you and follow the path around until you are standing in front of the three-holes-in-a-row for the last time.
Jump across the first hole and follow the path till you reach another tree that you can chop down with your axe.
Doing this will grant you access to a new hole for you to jump across, which leads to the final piece of fruit that you need to collect and another hole to jump across.
This brings you to your final task within the maze - chopping down three trees in a row. Neither your axe or shovel will break, so feel free to destroy away. Don’t consume any of your fruit - you’re going to want it for later.
Congratulations! You’ve reached the end of the maze!
Reaching the end of the May Day maze in New Horizons will bring you to Rover the cat. You may recognise Rover from past Animal Crossing games, especially if you played the GameCube version where he’s the first character you talk to.
Take the time to have a chat with Rover and he’ll give you Rover’s briefcase as a reward for solving the maze. If you recieved the briefcase last year, you’ll earn Rover’s picture instead.
You can earn further rewards by digging up the bush near Rover’s campfire to access four Bell Vouchers. After doing this, dig up the bushes behind the tree that is also near the campfire, so that you can run around the left-hand side of the maze.
Once you reach the beginning of the maze, you’ll find three rocks. Finally you can eat the three fruits you’ve been saving and destroy each of these rocks in turn to reach the additional five Bell Vouchers.
This brings you to a total of nine Bell Vouchers, which can be exchanged for 27,000 Bells.
With these last Bell Vouchers collected, you’ve also earned all the May Day events, meaning that it’s time to leave this little island.
Dig up the two bushes located to your right, jump across the hole and shovel up the final bush, so that you can make your way back to Wilbur. He’ll explain that you won’t be able to return to this island, so definitely make sure that you’ve collected everything before you leave.
Your first stop upon returning to your island should be your post box. Inside you’ll find that Dodo Airlines has mailed you both Rover’s briefcase or Rover’s picture and the Bell Vouchers you’ve earned.
May Day 2022 dates in Animal Crossing: New Horizons explained
May Day 2022 in New Horizons runs from Friday, April 29th to Saturday, May 7th. Time-wise it starts and ends at 5am on these days, which is the shared reset time for every island.
If you want to celebrate May Day, however, you must first ensure that you’ve downloaded the latest patch for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which you should be prompted to do when you start the game. And yes, even if you played last year you need to get the latest patch - as the maze solution is new.
How to start the May Day tour in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
To take part in the May Day celebrations in New Horizons you must first visit Residential Services and talk to Tom Nook.
He’ll explain that he’s got a special May Day special for you and tell you to head down to Dodo Airlines.
Once you get to the airport, talk to Orville and he’ll say that there’s a special May Day Ticket waiting for you.
If you want to take part in the May Day event, tell Orville that you want to fly and then select ‘Use May Day Ticket.’
It’s important to note that you can only partake in the May Day event once a year, so make sure you have the time to properly complete this activity. Orville will also take away your inventory as part of the event, but, don’t worry, you’ll get everything back once you return home.
How to complete the May Day 2021 maze in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
What follows is the 2021 maze solution - which we’ll keep in this page in case it’s relevant for future years. Read the first section of this page for how to complete the 2022 Maze, which is the same maze used in 2020.
To begin, collect the Shovel, equip it, and dig up the hedge blocking the way to the fruit.
Eat the fruit, and you’ll get the strength to dig up entire trees or smash rocks. Here, let’s dig up the tree to the north.
Grab the two pieces of wood here, then go east, and pick up the two pieces of fruit at the end.
Now head west, past the entrance, and dig up the hedge. At the end is some wood and a recipe for the ladder.
Eat two pieces of fruit - use these to smash the rock to the north, and dig up the tree by going east and then back west.
Cover up the hole, then go south and pick up two pieces of fruit.
Go north, and don’t smash the rock yet. To the west is a workbench. What we’ve now done is recovered the same amount of fruit we had before entering this area of the maze, but it’s given us access to the workbench. That said, we don’t have the resources yet to craft anything - so let’s find all that now.
Go back east, and eat two pieces of fruit, allowing you to smash the rock and dig up the tree and collect a piece of fruit between them.
Eat this fruit as well, then go over the hole to the north and dig up another tree.
In this section, you’ll find three pieces of wood - one to the south-west and two to the north - and a piece of fruit. Grab all of these.
Now, don’t progress here just yet. Return to the workbench. We still need two pieces of wood for the Ladder - which we can grab by eating the fruit we just collected, smashing the rock, and going north. Now craft the Ladder at the workbench.
With the Ladder, use it to climb up the platform to the south, where you will get the Worn Axe.
Return back to the east, to the area with the three holes. Jump over the middle hole by going from right to left, and use the Worn Axe on the tree. It will break after this one use. You can now jump on the tree stump, and slide over.
Use the Ladder to scale the cliff here to get the two pieces of fruit.
Now return to the three holes, and leap over all three from south to north, to a tree. Eat a piece of fruit to dig up the tree, and use the shovel to also dig up the two hedges here. You can now use the ladder to reach Rover.
You are free to finish, but you may realise you have a piece of fruit left over. This is to help you get some optional Bell Vouchers - which are worth picking up as an additional reward.
To do this, head left down from the cliff with your Ladder, dig up the hedge, and grab the four Bell Vouchers to the south.
Head north and go west around the outside of the maze, until you see a rock blocking two pieces of fruit. Consume your single fruit for the rock, to get two in return.
Continue south round the outside of the maze, and you’ll spot the remaining Bell Vouchers blocked behind three rocks. Do not eat your fruit and smash these - as you’ll be one short, and unable to get the Vouchers beyond.
Instead, return to the workbench, and go north. There are two trees here, which you can use your fruit to dig up. Beyond them is a cliff with three pieces of fruit, which you can reach with your Ladder.
Now return back to the outside of the maze to the south west, and eat the three pieces of fruit to smash the three rocks, and get the Bell Vouchers.
We’re now all done! Return to Rover now to complete the maze. If this is your first time, you’ll receive a Briefcase. If you completed it last year, Rover will be delighted to see you again - and will post on your reward (which is - spoilers - a picture of Rover).
The Animal Crossing 2.0 update and Happy Home Paradise is here! We can help you with the new additions - including where to find Brewster, Gyroids, new villagers, ordinances, new fences, storage shed, new hairstyles, Froggy Chair, group stretching and Kapp’n boat tours.
Cooking is now unlockable, so you need to know how to make both flour and sugar, as well as how to grow carrots, potatoes and tomatoes.
Meanwhile, if you’re new to Animal Crossing, our New Horizons tips can help with the basics.
From the off, there’s fish and bugs to catch, flowers and fruit to grow with. One long term goal is building your Happy Home Academy score. Finally, you need tools such as the new ladder and vaulting pole to fully explore.
How to restart the May Day maze in Animal Crossing: New Horizons
If you ever find yourself lost in the May Day maze or unable to progress, then you can use the ! Rescue Service app on your Nook Phone to bring you back to the entrance.
Once you’ve completed the May Day maze, you can also use the ! Rescue Service to restart the maze. This is especially usual if you want to collect all the Bell Vouchers, but used up all the fruit available on the island.
