GTA Online’s Treasure Hunt is Rockstar’s way of handing you a free gold revolver and a pile of cash. However, to with one of 20 possible starting locations randomly assigned to you.
You’ll follow an email from the Van der Linde gang, chase down a cryptic photo, and find clues scattered around Los Santos. Eventually, dig up a very Red Dead–flavored reward.
We will help you get those sweet rewards in GTA Online with this guide. You’ll have to do the legwork in the game, though!
How to Start the GTA Online Treasure Hunt Quest
This email will set you up on an epic journey throughout Los Santos | Credit: Rockstar Games
After joining a GTA Online session, you’ll get an email from vanderlinde@eyefind.com titled Treasure Hunt. It will contain a black-and-white photo of a random spot in Los Santos. The game also marks a yellow search circle on your map in roughly the same area.
Head to that location and listen for a faint chime and controller vibration as you get close. Inside that circle, look for a note pinned to an object. The object will be random, but it’s usually a rock, board, post, or a grave. Interact with it to confirm the first clue and unlock the rest of the hunt.
There are 20 possible clue locations, but you only get one photo per run! Once you find that note, the game locks in your location and progresses the hunt.
All Possible Clue Locations (20 Photo Spots)
Credit: Rockstar Games | YouTube @GTASeriesVideos
Credit: Rockstar Games | YouTube @GTASeriesVideos
Credit: Rockstar Games | YouTube @GTASeriesVideos
Each of these is a potential location where your initial treasure-hunt note can spawn. Keep in mind that you won’t visit all 20 in one run. However, if your screenshot looks familiar, we will tell you where to go and what to look for.
1. Del Perro Pier: Under the pier, a note is taped to a wooden support pillar near the sand.
2. Mount Josiah / Cassidy Creek: On a large rock by the creek, near the bridge.
3. Vinewood Hills: On the Baytree Canyon information poster north of the Galileo Observatory.
4. Pacific Bluffs Graveyard (Hill Valley Church): In the graveyard, a note is pinned to a big white tombstone.
5. Tongva Hills Vineyards: On a rock under the small stone bridge across the stream.
6. San Chianski Mountain Range (coast edge): On a wooden fence post or rock near a house and beached boat.
7. Great Chaparral Church: Among the gravestones, note attached to one in front of a cross marker.
8. Cassidy Creek (second spot): On a tree trunk by the bridge over the creek.
9. Tataviam Mountains (coast): On a big white boulder overlooking the sea.
10. Sandy Shores / Alamo Sea peninsula: On a rock next to a small boat at the tip of the sandy peninsula.
11. Grand Senora Desert (abandoned mine): On a wooden door/wall of a boarded-up mine building.
12. San Chianski Mountain Range (peak cross): Near the wooden cross on the mountain summit.
13. Los Santos Golf Club: On the support pillar of the small wooden bridge inside the course.
14. Pacific Ocean rocks: On a boulder on a small seaside outcrop, reachable along the coast.
15. Paleto Bay broken bridge: Under the ruined bridge, on one of the broken support pillars.
16. Great Chaparral (mine area): On a wooden pole in front of a mine gate or tunnel entrance.
17. Sandy Shores lookout: On a viewing board marked “Chiliad View” overlooking the area.
18. Mount Chiliad viewpoint: On the South S.A. View board near a lookout point.
19. Tongva Hills / Two Hoots Falls: On the owl totem pole near the waterfall.
20. Sandy Shores/desert boulders: On a large white rock out in the desert landscape.
Once you’ve checked off your specific note, the mission moves on from “photo hunt” to actual crime-scene sleuthing. This will be the final part of the Treasure Hunt, before you get your sweet rewards.
Final Three Crime Scene Clues in GTA Online Treasure Hunt
Credit: Rockstar Games | YouTube @GTASeriesVideos
Credit: Rockstar Games | YouTube @GTASeriesVideos
Credit: Rockstar Games | YouTube @GTASeriesVideos
After the first note, the game points you toward three fixed crime-scene clues. These are the same for everyone, every time. You can complete them in any order!
The first one is the Empty Gun Case at Grapeseed (Joad Lane). You have to look for a big tree with damaged bark on Joad Lane in Grapeseed. At the base of the tree is an open gun case with a revolver-shaped slot. Interact with it to mark the clue.
The second crime scene clue is the Bloody Shovel at the Sandy Shores Beach. You have to be on the Sandy Shores beach next to the Alamo Sea, in the wreckage of a ruined shack. The shovel lies near a green armchair and broken furniture. Approach the shovel and interact to register the clue.
The final clue is the Dead Body at the Tongva Hills Cave. So, just head to Tongva Hills and find the small cave under a cliff beside a creek. Inside is a corpse in underwear and boots with a head injury; inspect your last clue.
Interacting with all three completes the Treasure Hunt investigation and reveals the actual loot drop.
GTA Online Treasure Hunt Rewards
After so much meandering, you get rewarded with a truly unique weapon in GTA Online | Credit: Rockstar Games
Finish the three crime-scene clues, and you’re finally allowed to claim your prize. Here’s how to go about it:
A yellow chest icon appears on your map, leading you to the treasure’s location (a small lockbox in the wilderness).
Open the box to get the Double-Action Revolver, a gold, western-style hand cannon that’s a direct tie-in to Red Dead Redemption 2.
After unlocking the chest, you also receive a bonus challenge: “Score 50 headshots with the Double-Action Revolver (in GTA Online or Story mode)”. Completing this nets you $250,000 in GTA$.
Note: the $250,000 reward is issued once per account only; completing the headshot challenge on a second character will not earn an additional payout, as progress is shared across characters.
Players with a linked Rockstar Social Club account will also unlock an exclusive variation of the Double-Action Revolver to use in Red Dead Redemption 2.
#Clue TypeArea / NameWhat You’re Looking For1Photo-note spotDel Perro PierNote on a wooden support pillar under the pier.2Photo-note spotMount Josiah / Cassidy CreekNote pinned to a rock by the creek near the bridge.3Photo-note spotVinewood HillsNote on a sign or board near the hilltop juice stand.4Photo-note spotPacific Bluffs GraveyardNote on a large tombstone near Hill Valley Church.5Photo-note spotTongva Hills VineyardsNote on a rock under the small stone bridge over the stream.6Photo-note spotSan Chianski Mountain Range (coast)Note on a fence post/rock near a house and a beached boat.7Photo-note spotGreat Chaparral ChurchNote on a gravestone in front of a cross.8Photo-note spotCassidy Creek (bridge)Note on a tree trunk by the creek bridge.9Photo-note spotTataviam MountainsNote on a big white boulder overlooking the sea.10Photo-note spotSandy Shores / Alamo Sea peninsulaNote on a rock near a small boat at the tip of the peninsula.11Photo-note spotGrand Senora Desert (mine)Note on the boarded mine door or the nearby wooden wall.12Photo-note spotSan Chianski Range (summit cross)Note near the wooden summit cross.13Photo-note spotLos Santos Golf ClubNote on the bridge support inside the golf course.14Photo-note spotPacific Ocean rocksNote on a seaside boulder on a small rocky outcrop.15Photo-note spotPaleto Bay broken bridgeNote on a broken bridge support under the structure.16Photo-note spotGreat Chaparral (second mine area)Note on a pole by a mine gate/tunnel entrance.17Photo-note spotSandy Shores lookoutNote on the “Chiliad View” info board.18Photo-note spotMount Chiliad viewpointNote on the “South S.A. View” lookout board.19Photo-note spotTongva Hills / Two Hoots FallsNote on the owl totem pole near the waterfall.20Photo-note spotSandy Shores desert bouldersNote on a large white rock in the open desert.21Fixed clueGrapeseed – Joad LaneEmpty gun case at the base of a scarred tree.22Fixed clueSandy Shores beachBloody shovel near a ruined shack and green armchair.23Fixed clueTongva Hills caveA dead body is inside a small cave by the creek.
Do you agree that between the free weapon and the extra cash, the Treasure Hunt is one of the best low-effort grinds for newer players in GTA Online? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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