The dappled forest is the autumn-coloured biome that came with the Wilderness Bound update. Its poplar trees have red, orange and yellow leaves, the grass is orange, and fallen logs lie everywhere. It is easy to recognise once you see it, but it only generates in a few places. This guide shows where to look in Minecraft PE and the quickest ways to get there.
A dappled forest: poplar trees with red, orange and yellow leaves. Image: ECKOSOLDIER on YouTube
Which version do you need?
The dappled forest is part of Minecraft 26.50 (Wilderness Bound, released on September 15, 2026). Every later version has it too, including the current Minecraft PE 26.52.
In 26.40 the biome was only an experiment. It appeared only in new worlds created with the "Drop 3 of 2026" experimental toggle switched on. If you are still on 26.40 to 26.45, update to 26.50 or newer to find it in a normal world.
Where the dappled forest generates
Mojang describes it as a forest found near cold biomes. In practice it likes cold, dry land, so look:
- next to plains and sunflower plains, often on the other side of a river,
- beside ice spikes and cherry groves,
- on flat land near windswept gravelly hills or cold oceans,
- in mountains close to frozen peaks.
It does not border other woodland biomes, so walking through a big oak or birch forest will not lead you to one. Its size varies a lot: some are a handful of trees, others stretch for hundreds of blocks.
From above, a dappled forest beside a cherry grove and a river. Image: MaxStuff on YouTube
A dappled forest right next to snowy mountains. Image: ECKOSOLDIER on YouTube
The fastest ways to find one
1. Climb high and look for the colours
No other biome has red and orange leaves on tall poplars. From a hill or a pillar of blocks, scan the horizon for warm colours, ideally near snow or open plains.
2. Follow a camp map
Chests in abandoned camps hold explorer maps, including camp maps, and one of the eight kinds points to a camp in a dappled forest. See our abandoned camp guide for where camps appear.
3. Use the locate command (cheats on)
If cheats are on in your world, type /locate biome in chat and choose the dappled forest from the list Minecraft suggests. You get the coordinates of the nearest one. Turning cheats on disables achievements for that world, so only do this in a world where you don't mind.
4. Start a new world with the seed template
Wilderness Bound added a "Dappled Forest" seed template on the Create New World screen. Pick it and you start close to the biome.
Playing an old world?
New biomes only appear in parts of the world that have never been loaded before. In a world you started before 26.50, everything you have already explored stays as it was. Travel well past the areas you have visited, into fresh land, and the dappled forest can generate there.
What you can collect there
- Poplar logs and saplings: poplar leaves drop saplings, and the new poplar wood set has planks, stairs, slabs, doors, a boat and more.
- Shelf mushrooms: they grow on the sides of poplar logs, are a little bouncy, and go into stews.
- Red shrubs: small red plants for decoration.
- Animals: sheep, chickens, cows, pigs, rabbits and foxes spawn here.
- Abandoned camps: the dappled forest has its own camp variant, usually built next to a poplar.
Orange grass and leaf litter on the dappled forest floor. Image: MaxStuff on YouTube
Good to know
- The trees are dense, especially in Bedrock, so the shade can let hostile mobs spawn even during the day. Bring a torch or two.
- The water in a dappled forest is a very dark blue.
- A poplar's leaf colour is random, both in the wild and when you grow one from a sapling.
Need the update? Get Minecraft PE 26.52, the latest version with the dappled forest and the rest of Wilderness Bound.