Rockstar is great at creating immensely vast worlds, with inconceivable amounts of places to visit and sights to see. Most of the beautiful and fun places that the game has to offer are easy to find and see, but there are some really cool places to go in GTA 5  that are more or less hard to find if you're not an adventurer by trade. GTA 5 has arguably one of the biggest and most alive open worlds that we've seen to this day. It can be very easy to get stuck doing the same things and visiting the same major locations over and over again.

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While GTA 5 is huge and full of potential, it can also be incredibly daunting for new players. While completing missions and earning money can be fun, exploring the game, and discovering Easter eggs and hidden spots that Rockstar put in the game for those hardcore fans, can also be a very fun and rewarding experience. Although exploring is a simple concept, actually executing these searches and finding those cool places to go in GTA 5 can be tricky. Avoid some frustration and wasted time by checking out some of these cool places to go in GTA 5. So grab some snacks, party up with some friends, and enjoy these incredibly fun and interesting locations in GTA 5.

Updated March 23, 2021 by Issy van der Velde: GTA 5 has been out for some time now and new secrets are constantly being discovered. We need to revisit these articles from time to time to make sure that all the best new places to go in GTA 5 are included.

15 The Bottom Of The Beautiful Briney Blue

a player in gta online diving in the middle of a vast blue ocean
screenshot

So long as you don't suffer from thalassophobia (Intense fear of the sea), then making a trip to the bottom of Los Santos ocean is definitely worth the effort. It's easy to completely neglect this part of GTA 5 since you most likely spend 95% of your time either in a car or flying in planes and helicopters. There's no debating how detailed the world of GTA 5 is and the ocean is no different. Though, if you swim far enough out, be sure to bring a knife. The ocean is as deadly as it is beautiful, as sharks can and will sneak up on any unaware swimmers. Stay near your boat and be ready to hop in it at a moment's notice. If you're feeling like exploring the ocean in style, then grabbing a submarine may be for you. Although it requires some effort, it's definitely the coolest and safest way to explore the waters of Los Santos.

14 The Vinewood Walk of Fame

the walk of fame in gta 5

Located on Vinewood Boulevard in downtown Vinewood is the famous "Walk of Fame," which is obviously a copy of the "Hollywood Walk of Fame." This is a pretty interesting Easter egg and a blast from the past for hardcore GTA fans. While the Hollywood Walk of Fame has names of real life celebrities, the Vinewood Walk of Fame features 326 stars on the sidewalk tiles, with the names of various GTA celebrities from various GTA games. If you're confident with your GTA knowledge, it's worth the trip to find out how many of the stars you can recognize. While there are 326 stars on the pavement, only 195 of the stars are actually named. Perhaps they are saving the other 131 blank stars for future GTA games. You'd better wear your best clothes in this part of GTA 5, which will now be a lot easier since real fashion brands are making their way into the game.

Directions: The Walk of Fame in GTA 5 is located on Vinewood Boulevard, Downtown Vinewood, extending over three city blocks from Meteor Street in the east to Las Lagunas Boulevard in the west, crossing over Power Street and Alta Street.

13 A Huge, Unfinished Skyscraper

a large skyscraper under construction, with scaffolding all around it in gta 5

While it may sound like one of the more boring places to visit in GTA 5, the construction buildings are actually some of the tallest buildings that you can scale without a vehicle. It takes some maneuvering, but it's well worth it when you reach the top. There are some really cool things you can do with these buildings, like taking a bike inside or riding off the top with a motorcycle. Whatever you choose to do with these buildings, be sure to bring a parachute with you. While it is fun reaching the top, you do not want to make the climb down. You're going to want to either jump or trick off these buildings. A little creativity goes a long way in these locations - see what you can muster up.

Directions: The construction site is located just next to the Pillbox South Station of Los Santos Transit.

12 Party Island

trevor on a small island in gta 5 where people are sat on boxes around a campfire
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Filled with various remnants of parties had, visit this island during the day and you will find what looks like basically an abandoned camp-fire, with beer bottles and empty pizza boxes lying around, and a fairly run-down-looking shed. Inside the shed, there are beer kegs and some pretty worn-out-looking mattresses. For the best experience possible, visit this island at night and you will see people hanging out around the fire, drinking beer and having a grand old time. While this isn't necessarily an island with many things to do, it's more of an Easter egg, and definitely one of the more fun places to go in GTA 5.

Directions: Located in the small cluster of islands to the west of Fort Zancudo.

11 The Merryweather Industrial Paintball Arena

an industrial looking paintball arena in gta 5
'via www.psu.com'

If you have some friends who enjoy a firefight or two, then this arena-style warehouse room is definitely worth the trip. A perfect location for a death-match, this tight area inside the warehouse is modeled to look like a paintball arena. Sadly there aren't any paintball guns in GTA 5, so real guns will have to do - beggars can't be choosers.

RELATED: 15 Awesome Things You Didn't Know You Can Do In GTA Online

This room is located inside a Merryweather warehouse right on the docks. There is a mission that brings you to this warehouse, but the room is easy to miss. While you most likely have been to this warehouse, there's a very good chance that you missed this awesome Easter egg. With more players in 2020 than any other year, you'll definitely be able to find some people to do this with.

Directions: The port is located on the south side of Los Santos, east of Los Santos International Airport.  Elysian Island and Pier 400 are owned by Merryweather.

10 Hippie Van Cove

a cove with a lovely arched rock formation over a sandy beach in gta 5
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This spot is more of an Easter egg than it is an area with potential for activities. It's very reminiscent of a spot that you would think high school kids would call "Make-out Point," but with more of a hippie spin on it. Whether you want to call it a cove, or an arch, this spot has a very interesting rock formation right on the shore of the beach, in a very secluded area of Los Santos. The reason why it has a hippie vibe to it, well, because there's a hippie van parked right beside the cove. This is one of the more peaceful places to go in GTA 5, and if you haven't checked it out before, it's definitely worth a quick visit.

Location: 

a screenshot of the gta 5 map showing the exact location of the cove

9 Bolingbroke Maximum Security Penitentiary

a dark blue prison bus in gta 5

Although this prison is featured in the "Prison Break" heist in GTA Online, you can also visit this penitentiary on your own time in GTA 5's single-player mode, or while free-roaming online. While the heist does allow you to travel through the prison yard, it doesn't really give you the opportunity to fully explore. Visiting this prison in free-play allows you to explore at your own pace. Though if you do decide to give the home of Los Santos' most dangerous a visit, make sure to bring a fair amount of firearms, ammo, or backup. Prison guards and police won't be pleased if you decide to pop by for a visit. This is one of the best places to go in GTA 5 if you're looking to pick a fight with the police. Just make sure you have a getaway vehicle ready, preferably a helicopter or plane. Luckily there is a landing strip close by.

Directions: Bolingbroke Prison is located on the south side of Route 68, just down the road from Harmony.

8 A Hilly Wind Farm

a helicopter flying towards a large windfarm on some hills in gta 5
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If you haven't fully explored the more rural places to go in GTA 5, then you may have missed out on all the fun that the Los Santos wind farm has to offer. This wind farm can be an extremely brutal yet effective training course for up and coming pilots in GTA 5. Trying to fly a helicopter or small plane through this area is as fun as it is challenging. It is recommended to steal your aircraft if you don't have a sizable disposable income, since you will most likely destroy a handful of expensive vehicles trying to maneuver through this wind farm. Another fun activity with this area is to get police helicopters to follow you through and watch as they stumble into the blades.

Directions: The wind farm is located in Los Santos County, San Andreas.  It's bordered by the Senora Freeway to the west and Senora Way to the east. It's pretty hard to miss.

7 The Lovely Pier Fairgrounds

a muscle car parked outside a fairground in gta 5
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While you without a doubt have either seen this theme park area from afar, driving through it, or past it, you most likely haven't exhausted all of its awesome potential. For the best experience possible, visit the fairground at night and you will find that all the rides are lit up.

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If you're looking to get a good view of Los Santos, come here during the day, and take a ride on the "Ferris Whale" and get some screenshots. You can also ride the Leviathan roller coaster if you're looking for some adrenaline or, again, some cool screenshots. There are also various telescopes scattered around the fairground, which can also provide you some beautiful screenshots. This spot is mostly about screenshots if you haven't noticed.

Directions: Located in Del Perro, Los Santos.  Main access point is through Red Desert Avenue.

6 The Stunning Raton Canyon

a man fishing in a river at the bottom of a canyon in gta 5

This beautiful yet extreme canyon is a paradise for adrenaline junkies and tree huggers alike. Raton Canyon is a huge canyon that divides the Mount Chiliad State Wilderness and Mount Josiah. There are three bridges stretched through the canyon and various trails perfect for dirt biking or mountain biking. This canyon is also an incredibly fun place to parachute through. There is also a river that runs through the entire canyon, with multiple mini waterfalls scattered throughout. Take a ski-doo or speedboat through the canyon with some friends, but just make sure you have a ride out since it's very easy to get stranded, as it's not entirely made for water travel. If you still forgot to arrange a ride out, you should be able to find some parked cars or dirt bikes scattered throughout the canyon. Be careful though, actual lawmakers aren't happy about the amount of car theft going on.

Directions: The Canyon is located within the Chiliad Mountain State Wilderness area in Blaine County. Cassidy Creek runs from the Alamo Sea to the Pacific Ocean through Raton Canyon.

5 Mount Chiliad's Infamous Bike Trails

someone on a quadbike on a narrow trail on mount chilliad in gta 5
'via de.gta.wikia.com'

Whether you're a GTA veteran or rookie, you most likely have either heard of Mount Chiliad or traveled there yourself. Although you might have flown to the top of GTA's tallest mountain and parachuted off of it, you may have missed its bicycle trails. In story mode, you can find some mountain bikes at the top, but if you're playing online, then you'll have to either bike to the top or find a way to transport a bike. Either way, Mount Chiliad has multiple bike routes from the top to the very bottom of the mountain. Some are easy and relaxing, and some are down-right frightening. If you're a fan of biking and great views, then this is definitely one of the most fun places you can go in GTA 5.

Directions: Directly at the top of Mount Chiliad. Various trails have wooden picket signs.

4 Heavily Guarded Military Base Fort Zancudo

fort zancudo military base as seen from above in gta 5

If explosions and absolute destruction are your favorite parts of GTA 5, then the Fort Zancudo army base should be your main priority for fun. Tanks, helicopters, and jets are everywhere, what more could you ask for? Fort Zancudo is home to everything you could ever need to cause as much destruction as possible and actually stay alive while doing it. The only problem with this area is that it's an army base and they don't take kindly to trespassers. The best method to entering and obtaining a military vehicle would be to parachute inside and get out as quickly as possible. Try taking this online with a couple of friends, so at least one of you will successfully obtain a vehicle without dying.

Directions: Located on the outskirts of the Lago Zancudo swamps and at the base of Mount Josiah in Blaine County, San Andreas.

3 A College Stadium

a college athletics track just behind an old casino off the highway in gta 5
'via gtaforums.com'

Whether you call it a college stadium or a sports arena, this track and field area has amazing potential for content with the right amount of creativity. This area is almost impossible to see from the road, but if you happen to be flying low enough then you may have spotted this area before. This track is the perfect location for races, so take some of your best cars and tear the track up. Online content creators can work wonders with this area, so you might find some player-created jobs featuring this stadium. From deathmatches to wacky races, this college stadium is a perfect place to mess around with some friends, whichever method you may choose. You could also take some of the game's more ridiculous cars and have a proper battle.

Directions: It is located next to the Vinewood Casino on Vinewood Park Drive in East Vinewood, Los Santos.

2 A Secret Airport Bunker

an aerial shhot of a bunker just outside of los santos airport
'via gta.wikia.com'

If you're a veteran of GTA Online, then you have without a doubt spent a lot of time, if not most of it, inside the airport, stealing aircraft and having shootouts with police and players alike. The airport is a pretty straightforward and obvious location at first glance, but you most likely haven't fully explored the inside of the airport. All the doors on the buildings are closed, except one, which leads you to a small bunker and eventually to the roof of the building. This can be an extremely effective location to hide from the police or players terrorizing the airport. It can also be a great place to increase your wanted level. Camp out in here and kill the cops when they enter, do this until you get four or five stars, and have a friend pick you up on the roof via helicopter.

Directions: The main airport compound building, up the set of stairs.

1 Surfers Hidden Cove

a small cove on a sandy beach with some surf equipment and a small fire in gta 5
screenshot

While unfortunately, you can't actually surf in GTA 5, this very secluded and peaceful "cove" like area is definitely worth taking a look at. So long as you don't kill them on sight, you will find a couple of surfers, hanging out by the fire pit after a radical afternoon of hitting the waves. These surfers also apparently enjoy volleyball as well, even though there is no net to be found. This is another one of the many peaceful places to go in GTA 5, so go here if you need to unwind after a hard day of killing and causing mayhem.

Location: 

a screenshot of the in-game map showing the exact location of the surer cove

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