Dark Forest biome in Minecraft
The Dark Forest is one of the densest forests of the Overworld: thick dark oaks whose crowns join into a near-solid roof, with huge mushrooms growing between them. It is the home of the Woodland Mansion, and the shade under its canopy makes it a dangerous place to cross.
/execute in minecraft:overworld run tp @s 768 110 -1312 180 25Climate
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Temperature
- 0.7
- Downfall
- 0.8
- Weather
- Rain
How to find a Dark Forest
/locate biome minecraft:dark_forestMap by Chunkbase, shown as a companion to this guide. Without your seed, it shows an example world. Results depend on the edition and version you pick.
Dark Forest in numbers
- Share of the world
- 2%of the Overworld surface
- Rarity rank
- 32 / 521 = the rarest
- Distance from spawn
- ~990 blocksaverage, 1,000 worlds
- Within 1,000 blocks
- 54.1%of worlds
- Spawn biome
- 4.5%of worlds start here
Old Growth Birch Forest13.3%Birch Forest12.9%
Pale Garden8.6%
Beach7.9%
// 1,000 random seeds, normal world. Java 26.2 world generation computed with cubiomes, plus the 26.3 Dappled Forest rule. Estimates, not exact 26.3 values.
/execute in minecraft:overworld run tp @s 784 77 -1328 -90 0Mobs in the Dark Forest
Structures in the Dark Forest
Under the dark oak canopy
Most of the trees are dark oaks, with a two-by-two trunk and a wide, flat crown. They grow so close together that little light reaches the ground. Between them stand oaks, birches and huge red and brown mushrooms. Break those by hand for small mushrooms, or use Silk Touch to keep the Red Mushroom Block, the Brown Mushroom Block and the Mushroom Stem. The ground is often covered with Leaf Litter, and the grass looks darker than in other forests.
Wood, apples and mushrooms
- Dark oak wood. A Dark Oak Log gives dark brown planks, perfect for rustic builds. To grow a dark oak, plant four Dark Oak Saplings in a 2 × 2 square: a single sapling never grows.
- Apples. Dark oak leaves can drop apples, just like oak leaves.
- Mushrooms. They grow everywhere here, which makes Mushroom Stew an easy early meal.
Danger and the Woodland Mansion
The canopy keeps the sun off the ground, so Zombies and Skeletons don't burn here during the day. Watch for them even at noon and bring torches for the darkest spots. The Dark Forest and the Pale Garden are the only biomes where a Woodland Mansion can generate. These huge buildings are rare and full of Vindicators and Evokers, and an Evoker drops a Totem of Undying when killed. A cartographer villager can sell you a Woodland Explorer Map that leads to the nearest one. Inside some Dark Forests you may also come across the grey trees of a Pale Garden.
✓ Checked in Java Edition 26.3 · updated 1 November 2026
Dark Forest — FAQ
Why don't Zombies burn in a Dark Forest?
Undead mobs only burn when they have open sky above them. Under the thick dark oak canopy they stay in the shade all day, so they keep attacking after sunrise.
How do you grow a dark oak tree?
Plant four Dark Oak Saplings in a 2 × 2 square and use bone meal or wait. A single dark oak sapling never grows into a tree.
Which mobs spawn in the Dark Forest?
Sheep, Pig, Chicken, Cow, Spider, Skeleton, Creeper, Slime, Zombie, Enderman, Zombie Villager, Witch, Bat and Glow Squid.
Which structures generate in the Dark Forest?
Woodland Mansion, Mineshaft, Ruined Portal, Stronghold and Trial Chambers.
How do you find the Dark Forest?
With cheats on, /locate biome minecraft:dark_forest gives the coordinates of the nearest one. Without cheats, a seed map of your world shows where it is.
