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For the location, see Mystery Lake (location).
Ideal for new players. A balance between wilderness and man-made shelters, resources, and wildlife.
- In game description

Mystery Lake is 1st Region available for play in Survival Mode and one of the primary starting regions in The Long Dark. The region is named after Mystery Lake, a lake serving as the reservoir for the Carter Hydro Dam. A railway crosses the region and is mainly used in the summers supporting the local timber operation and lakeside recreation.

The region connects to Forlorn Muskeg on the southern end of the railroad and to Mountain Town in the southwest via a cave near the Trapper's Homestead. The railroad leads into The Ravine at the northeast edge of the map and continues into the Coastal Highway region. The Carter Hydro Dam near the northeast end of the railroad provides a transition to the Pleasant Valley region.

Entrances

Mystery Lake has four main entrances.

Description

As described in "Mystery Lake & Area" from Episode 2, the region of Mystery Lake is an alpine valley, averaging 1,200 meters above sea level, centered around its namesake lake. The lake itself is surrounded by forested hills, and there is much passive wildlife in the area. While there are wolves and bears, they are much less common here than in other regions. Temperatures are not as mild here as they are in Coastal Highway, however, they are by no means as cold as around Timberwolf Mountain or Ash Canyon. The region offers plenty of shelter, with cabins and trailers scattered throughout the forested hills, as well as Ice Fishing and lots of foraging. Beyond the lake and hills, mountains surround the region on the west and south sides, while the foothills of the Inner Island Range can be seen on the region's north and east, forming a barrier through which players cannot travel. The Trans-Island Railway Line cuts through the region, entering the region from Forlorn Muskeg via the Rail Tunnel. Along the way, it passes by Camp Office, the Derailment, the Train Loading Area, and Carter Hydro Dam. Just past Carter, the tracks enter The Ravine, and eventually lead to Coastal Highway. These tracks can be extremely useful in inclement weather, as they enable players to travel around without getting lost.

Overall, Mystery Lake is generally considered one of, if not the easiest region to survive in, though some argue that Coastal Highway is even easier, despite its higher predator density. Mystery Lake is also in the center of Great Bear Island in-game, and well-prepared players will be able to reach most other in-game regions within a day's travel, though travelling to some regions, such as Blackrock, may make for a long day's travel. Players who own Tales from the Far Territory should be aware that Mystery Lake does spawn cougars, and plan accordingly.

Base locations

Although there are at least a dozen shelters available in the region, three locations are particularly popular amongst players:

Camp Office

This location is very central in the region, and, given that Mystery Lake is near the middle of Great Bear Island, is one of the most central locations overall. It offers a Work Bench, nearby Ice Fishing, hunting, and trapping, along with two stoves and lots of space to store gear. Given these features, it's no wonder that Camp Office is one of the most popular base locations of all. The one disadvantage of living here is that there are a moderate number of wolves in the area.

Trapper's Homestead

The Trapper's Homestead has much more secure surroundings (aside from a bear) and a bed, stove, workbench, together with loads of storage. Although there's good hunting and trapping in the area, it does suffer from the disadvantage of being rather far away from most of the other key locations in Mystery Lake. The nearby connector cave to Mountain Town allows to cure Cabin fever risk and supplies Coal.

Carter Hydro Dam

Arguably the largest base location in the game, the dam offers almost limitless storage space, multiple workbenches, a fire barrel, and access to both Winding River and The Ravine. There's no bed available, however, one can bring a Bedroll or sleep in the trailers outside. The largest hazard of living here are live wires during the Aurora, which can badly burn players who aren't careful.

Locations

There are many accessible locations within Mystery Lake, including:

There is also 1 Prepper Cache on a mountain close to Dave's Quiet Clearing and 1 lone cabin close to Unnamed Pond. Several Lake Cabins and a Lone Lake Cabin can be entered near Mystery Lake.

Maps

Gallery

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