Minecraft Abandoned Camps Guide: All 18 Biomes, Explorer Maps, Loot, and What to Look For

Minecraft's new Abandoned Camps can generate in 18 different biomes, so you don't need to find a Dappled Forest to run into one. Their designs change with the biome, and camps can contain chests, barrels, and Explorer Maps that point toward other places in the Overworld. Bedrock testing has also documented Straw Beds, Cushions, and Secret Chests as part of the camp system.

Abandoned Camps are still being tested for Minecraft 26.3. This guide reflects the official Java and Bedrock testing information available through August 17, 2026, including Java Snapshot 9 and the latest relevant Bedrock previews. Mojang is still adjusting the feature, so some details can change before the final release.

Where Abandoned Camps can spawn

Mojang currently lists 18 biomes that can generate an Abandoned Camp. Each biome gets a version of the structure designed around that environment, although some structure pieces are shared between variants.

• Meadow
• Cherry Grove
• Forest
• Birch Forest
• Old Growth Birch Forest
• Flower Forest
• Windswept Forest
• Dappled Forest
• Taiga
• Snowy Taiga
• Old Growth Spruce Taiga
• Old Growth Pine Taiga
• Sparse Jungle
• Bamboo Jungle
• Swamp
• Savanna
• Wooded Badlands
• Pale Garden

That list also clears up an easy misconception from the original reveal. Abandoned Camps were introduced alongside the Dappled Forest, and Mojang's early presentation put the two closely together. The structure isn't exclusive to that biome.

There isn't just one fixed camp copied into all 18 locations, either. Mojang says the structure design changes with the biome, and Java Snapshot 6 later added another campsite variant for each biome, along with smaller structure tweaks. Mojang hasn't published a definitive total for every possible camp layout.

What to look for when you find a camp

An Abandoned Camp isn't laid out exactly the same way every time, so checking only the first visible container can mean missing part of the structure.

Mojang's official notes confirm that chests and barrels with loot can generate in camps. The camp's design also changes with the biome, which means there isn't one universal arrangement to memorize.

When you find one, check:

• visible chests;
• barrels;
• the rest of the camp around those obvious containers;
• chests for Explorer Maps;
• biome-specific parts of the structure that make the camp look different from variants you've already seen.

Bedrock testing adds a few more things to watch for. Mojang has documented Straw Beds, Cushions, and Secret Chests in Abandoned Camps there. Those details shouldn't automatically be assumed to work identically in Java unless Java documentation or gameplay testing confirms them.

Straw Beds are useful while exploring

In Bedrock testing, Straw Beds can appear as part of Abandoned Camps and have also been added to camp barrel loot.

The item itself has a useful exploration mechanic. A Straw Bed lets you sleep through the night without changing your spawn point, then disappears after one use. That makes it useful when you're far from your base and don't want a normal bed resetting where you'll respawn.

What about Secret Chests?

Mojang's Bedrock beta notes explicitly refer to Secret Chests in Abandoned Camps. In July, the studio fixed a bug that caused those chests to generate Oxidized Copper Chains instead of their intended Diamond and Potion loot.

What Mojang hasn't documented is a universal rule for exactly where a Secret Chest must appear, how often one generates, or whether every camp gets one. If a particular layout hides one beneath or around another part of the structure, that should be treated as an example of that layout rather than a guaranteed position.

How Abandoned Camp Explorer Maps work

Explorer Maps are what make these structures more interesting than a quick supply stop.

Starting with Java Snapshot 7, Mojang added maps to some Abandoned Camps. They can send you toward another camp or a different Overworld structure, turning one discovery into a lead for the next one.

On Java, Explorer Maps are now their own item types rather than renamed Filled Maps. You can still clone one at a Crafting Table, but Explorer Maps can no longer be zoomed out at a Crafting Table or Cartography Table.

The 8 Abandoned Camp Map destinations

Abandoned Camps can generate in 18 documented biomes, but Java Snapshot 7 lists maps to camps in only these eight biome categories:

• Bamboo Jungle
• Cherry Grove
• Birch Forest
• Dappled Forest
• Flower Forest
• Pale Garden
• Swamp
• Windswept Forest

So an Old Growth Pine Taiga can contain an Abandoned Camp, for example, but Mojang doesn't currently list an Old Growth Pine Taiga Abandoned Camp Map among Java's dedicated map destinations.

Bedrock testing later added another rule: Explorer Maps found in camps no longer lead to an Abandoned Camp in the same biome where that map was looted.

The 7 other structures Java maps can point to

Java Snapshot 7 also lists seven non-camp destinations:

• Ancient City
• Trial Chambers
• Mineshaft
• Desert Pyramid
• Jungle Pyramid
• Warm Ocean Ruins
• Woodland Mansion

That gives Java's Snapshot 7 notes 15 listed destination categories in total, counting the eight camp-biome destinations and seven other structures.

It doesn't mean every camp has 15 maps. Mojang only says different maps can appear in some camps.

Java and Bedrock aren't documented exactly the same way yet

Java Snapshot 7 explicitly lists the eight camp-biome destinations plus all seven structures above.

Bedrock Preview 26.50.24 says camp chests can contain Explorer Maps leading to Ancient Cities, Mineshafts, Desert Pyramids, Warm Ocean Ruins, and other biome variants of Abandoned Camps. The same notes don't explicitly list Trial Chambers, Jungle Pyramids, or Woodland Mansions.

That doesn't prove those three destinations are impossible on Bedrock. The official changelogs simply don't document the two editions with the same level of detail here, so a gameplay difference shouldn't be assumed without further testing.

What loot is confirmed so far

Abandoned Camp loot has already changed during testing, so the game edition and build matter when reading a loot list.

• Chests and barrels can contain loot: Confirmed in Java and Bedrock testing.
• Secret Chests exist in Abandoned Camps: Confirmed in Bedrock Preview.
• Secret Chests have intended Diamond and Potion loot: Confirmed in Bedrock Preview 26.50.20.
• Explorer Maps can appear in camp chests: Confirmed in Java Snapshot 7 and Bedrock Preview.
• Straw Beds can appear in camps: Confirmed in Bedrock Preview.
• Camp barrels can contain a White Cushion and Straw Bed: Confirmed in Bedrock Preview 26.50.25.
• Firework Rockets were replaced with Gunpowder in camp loot: Confirmed in Java Snapshot 7 and Bedrock Preview 26.50.25.

In Java Snapshot 7, Mojang replaced Firework Rockets with Gunpowder in the Abandoned Camp Chest loot table. Bedrock later received the same replacement. A loot guide that still lists Firework Rockets is therefore describing an earlier testing build.

A full current loot table with exact percentages is harder to pin down from Mojang's public notes alone. The changelogs confirm individual items and changes, but they don't publish every current roll and probability for Java Snapshot 9. Exact odds from older testing builds shouldn't be treated as final 26.3 numbers.

Why older Abandoned Camp guides may look different

Abandoned Camps have changed several times since they first entered testing.

• June 23: the structure arrived with generation across 18 biomes, biome-specific designs, chests, barrels, and loot.
• July: Bedrock testing added Straw Beds, fixed Cushion generation and corrected Secret Chest loot.
• July 28: Java Snapshot 6 added another campsite variant for every biome.
• August 4: Java Snapshot 7 added Explorer Maps and replaced Firework Rockets with Gunpowder.
• August 12: Java Snapshot 8 changed the item's name from Abandoned Campsite Map to Abandoned Camp Map.

What we still don't know

A few useful details are still unresolved while 26.3 remains in testing:

• Mojang hasn't published a definitive total for every possible Abandoned Camp layout or a simple official spawn-rate figure for the structure.
• The public changelogs don't provide a complete current Snapshot 9 loot table with exact odds for every item.
• Secret Chests are officially documented in Bedrock testing, but their universal generation rules and fixed placement, if any, haven't been established in the official notes used for this guide.