It’s been over a decade since gamers first discovered the Capital Wasteland in Bethesda’s Fallout 3. From the first moment gamers emerged from Vault 101 and began the quest to locate their missing father, gamers have spent the last decade going through each and every nook and cranny in the open-world game. Dodging super mutants, feral ghouls, and enemy raiders, gamers have traveled across the vast majority of the apocalyptic ruins of Washington DC, in an alternate future where 50s-era pop culture and design survived but futuristic technology reigned supreme. Yet, in all this chaos and epic fun, gamers might not realize that there are still secret locations within the game world that they have yet to find.
Yes, in all that time, gamers are still surprised when they find some new area they hadn’t realized had a hidden item, mini story, or surprise character waiting for them. From visitors from another world to underground systems within the old city that house dark and spooky secrets, guarded by some of the most fearsome enemies the wasteland has to offer. These areas are sitting there waiting to be discovered by dedicated Fallout fans everywhere, and that’s where we come in.
Today we are going to take the time to explore these areas, find out what secrets they house, and finally explore 100% of the Capital Wasteland once and for all. So come along on this journey as we explore 25 hidden locations fans still haven’t found in Fallout 3, because war… war never changes.
25 The Strange Alien Crash Site
The use of extraterrestrials as humorous or vague side quests is nothing new to the Fallout universe. Heck, Fallout 3 had a DLC story called Mothership Zeta, which took place on an alien ship that abducted you. Yet not many people know that in this game, a crashed alien ship can be found.
Traveling north from MDPL-13 power station following the power cables, you’ll come across a ruined house, which, on the other side of the house, hosts the crashed ship. Using the alien distress beacon “Recon Craft Theta Signal,” you’ll find the ship along with the body of the pilot and an alien blaster, with ammo scattered around him.
24 Hunting The Mirelurks
One of the things fans are going to be accustomed to in Fallout 3 are the metro stations that can be explored within the Capital Wasteland. This is one of many Metro stations underneath the Capital Wasteland. Following the white line and entering through Becton Metro Station, Abernathy Metro Station allows you to travel and enter Takoma Park. It’s heavily irradiated and filled with Mirelurks, so be careful when traveling through this station. The operating system may say it’s in perfect working condition, but it’s a total lie.
23 Arlington Sewer
Located south-east of the Arlington Library, this three-leveled location has two guard rooms and a locked storage room on the bottom floor. Nearby are also areas filled with aggressive and hostile raiders who will attack on-sight. Southwest of the sewer is a Talon Company Outpost, which has a Stealth Boy and a Nikola Tesla and You book on a small table. This sewer might just be a treasure trove of goodies for the wasteland traveler in all of us.
22 Bethesda Underworks
Located Northeast of the Bethesda office east, these underworks are unique in that there is no obelisk marking the underground location. Although the tunnels are partially destroyed, the mezzanine is intact, and if you travel south of the Bethesda office west location, you’ll find the Underwork’s sewer location.
Inside are barrels filled with radioactive material, and surrounding these barrels are a whole slew of ghouls. It’s common to find glowing ones or feral ghoul reavers (if you possess the Broken Steel DLC), but be warned that if you enter this area, there’s a chance ghouls will swarm you all at once, making you fight off up to six ghouls of varying strengths and brutality all at once.
21 Calverton
This town is easily seen due to its large partially destroyed church that can be seen from the southwest. To the side of this church building is a small cemetery. At one entrance to the graveyard is a tripwire that sets off a shotgun blast to any trespassers, while the other entrance has a grenade ready to explode for anyone who steps on a pressure plate. Near a bed located inside the cemetery is a prisoner, giving your character incentive to go out and help the poor soul who was taken.
20 Capitol Post
Outside of this old news office, the plaza is crawling with scores of super mutants. If you installed the Broken Steel DLC, then you will see Mutant Overlords roaming around the area as well. Inside the building, you will find a reception area, terminals with stories of the pre-war Capital Wasteland, and a printing room. One of the terminals is rigged to explode, so be careful. Also one of the terminals houses the means to unlock a safe, although the safe is sometimes hard to discern. In the printing room, you will find the remains of Gibson, along with a note and key to his house in Minefield.
19 Car Dealership
Yes, even in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, we cannot escape the lure of the car dealership. Similar in design to the Corvega factory, this car dealership houses a water tower and can be found east of the Fairfax ruins.
After the Waters of Life quest, a small detachment of Enclave soldiers can be found holed up underneath the water tower outside of the dealership. Inside you will find two Corvegas on sale and display, advertised as being only $1,600,000.
18 Chinese Army Mobile Command HQ
Before the bombs fell on the Capital Wasteland, tensions between the U.S. and China were at an all-time high. So it’s not surprising that when traveling east of the Regulator HQ, you’ll find a destroyed piece of freeway with a truck and trailer on top of a high rise at the freeway’s end. Inside the trailer, you’ll find an old HAM radio, a broken terminal, and a Chinese Army: Special Ops training manual. This is the only clue you’ll find within the area that speaks of the trailer’s purpose, a secret spy and communications HQ for Chinese agents within the Capital Wasteland.
17 Cornucopia Fresh Groceries
The attention to detail in this game is great, as the creators even created a popular chain of grocery stores in the Capital Wasteland known as Cornucopia Fresh Groceries. At least four of these stores can be found in the Capital Wasteland with various items and collectibles to find. One is near Georgetown West, another near Northwest Seneca Station, a third one near Takoma Park, and finally a fourth one located near Seward Sq. Southeast. This last one is inaccessible but continues to show the depth the mythology of this alternate universe can be.
16 Drainage Chamber
In actuality, there are a total of seven drainage chambers in the Capital Wasteland, as well as a couple of sealed cisterns and a few dungeons. What holds these locations together is the presence of broadcast stations broadcasting Morse code. While no specific locations are known, they can be found by locating the large radio towers in the distance.
Each location has a switch one can throw at the bottom of the broadcast tower to begin to encode the messages, and you can follow the messages to a nearby grate or sewer entrance. Inside of these underground areas you’ll find the HAM radio broadcasting the messages. Turning these off is probably a good idea, as it lures many to a dangerous fall or worse.
15 Dry Sewer
This is, as you guessed, a sewer that is located near Dupont Circle. It is on the path to the Our Lady of Hope Hospital that is found during the Reilly’s Rangers mission. Nearby are a group of Talon Company mercy, who will have to be dealt with. Entering the sewer you’ll find a grenade bouquet to disarm, two Talon Mercs fighting two super mutants (one with a mini-gun), and to the east is a dead-end chamber that houses many parts. In this room, flammable and toxic gas can be found and ignited, and beyond that is a super mutant with a heavy weapon, a fallen Mr. Gutsy robot, and a fallen super mutant (or a Mr. Gusty robot with two fallen Super Mutants, depending on that outcome). It’s a dangerous place to be, needless to say.
14 Early Dawn Elementary
Even a children’s elementary school is creepy to see in the post-apocalypse. Located north of the GNR building Plaza in Chevy Chase (not the actor, the location), this elementary school is all but decimated. You’ll have to travel through this area during the Following In His Footsteps mission, and will come across misshapen school desks and lockers, some filled with goodies. After defeating the super mutants holed up in the school, this becomes a strategic battle location for the Brotherhood of Steel to protect Galaxy News Radio.
13 Enclave Outposts
While an unmarked location technically, there are over 30 of these outposts scattered across the old pre-war road system. Yet they are easily missed if you aren’t looking for them.
Found more frequently after the Waters of Life quest, these camps and checkpoints are used to experiment, test out new weapons and even hunt down wasteland ghouls that come across these checkpoints. They are dangerous and house dangerous creatures that they use in the hopes of learning to control and weaponize them. Be warned.
12 Festive Raider Camp
Even the post-apocalypse and hundreds of years of survival can’t get rid of the holiday spirit. While the raiders of the Capital Wasteland are vicious and will attack you on sight, some of these raiders seem to enjoy the holidays. This camp was set up as an ambush site, but as you enter the area you’ll find a crumbling tree decorated with Christmas lights next to an old green sofa. It’s quite a festive look for such a violent group of people.
11 Flooded Metro Raider Camp
If you choose to hike all the way back to Rivet City after saving your father James during the Tranquility Lane quest rather than simply fast travel there, then you will come across this area. It is filled to the brim with dangerous raiders and piles of old cars. Be aware of these cars and don’t get caught near one, as the crossfire from the raider’s attacks can set one of the cars on fire and set off a chain reaction exploding the entire area.
10 Fort Bannister Ground Zero
Whether it was a U.S. bomber who crashed with a large bomb after being hit by an EMP or another alien crash site, nobody knows what exactly happened to Fort Bannister. The only way to mark the area is to see the massive crater surrounded by small craters.
The area is crawling with radscorpions, and the small craters have no useful materials inside of them. However a piece of sheeting in the large crater holds an overturned military truck, along with a safe and some radaway.
9 Freeway Raider Encampment
Located on top of a large freeway north of Vault 101, new and low-level players should steer clear of this massive raider fortress unless they are prepared for a fight for their lives. Two raiders are always patrolling with high powered weapons, including sniper rifles. There are always at least 10 raiders in total near the area for whenever you decide to explore the place. It doesn’t matter what level you sit at, the area will always be super tough to explore.
8 Ghoul Outpost
Are ghouls powerful enough to imprison a super mutant? Surprisingly enough, Fallout 3 has the answer for you. You wouldn’t expect to see this, but south-west of Marigold Station is a building that houses three powerful ghouls, one imprisoned super mutant, and a mini nuke sitting on a back shelf in the area. It may not sound like much, but the question of how the super mutant became imprisoned and surrounded by feral ghouls is quite an interesting one, making this hidden location quite unique.
7 Gold Ribbon Grocers
Talk about a game of cat and mouse. The entire store here has been transformed into a massive maze of various machinations that ultimately lead to a big prize.
Standing on a pressure plate nearby, watch as several traps are tripped, leading ultimately to a frag grenade explosion that triggers an explosion of a gas leak nearby, which will cause a skeleton with several pieces of loot to fly out of a hole in the southwest ceiling and onto the sidewalk near you. Be careful not to go to the backside of the building before the explosion, as you could be caught up in the blast yourself.
6 Hilltop Farm Ruins
Located Northeast of the Temple of the Union, this large area contains an old silo, windmill, water tower, outhouse, two irradiated plots of farming land, and a farmhouse that has been all but destroyed. In the area, you’ll find a terminal with a skeleton nearby. The terminal explains the history of the area, which was used by a group of settlers who emerged from underground and began this farming community. The last entry points to strangers approaching the area and the citizens' attempt to hide, although the state of the farm and the body left behind indicate they were unsuccessful and were either taken out or sold into slavery.