Snowy Beach

Snowy beaches are cold coastlines where sand is covered by a layer of snow. They separate snowy land from frozen oceans. With this snowy beach finder, the map above shows the nearest snowy shores for your seed. It is a quick way to find buried treasure and shipwrecks in the cold.

Where snowy beaches generate

Snowy beaches replace normal beaches in the coldest climate zones. They usually lie between snowy land and frozen oceans. Now and then, one generates landlocked.

Common neighbours are snowy plains, snowy taigas, ice spikes and taigas. The terrain is mostly flat and smooth. It can also be wide, rugged or even mountainous.

In low-erosion areas you get stony shores instead. Warmer regions have regular beaches. Lush caves can appear underneath in humid spots.

What you find on a snowy beach

Snow covers sand, with sandstone below. Ice forms along the water edge where the ocean freezes.

• Buried treasure: it can generate under the sand.
• Shipwrecks: wrecks may sit on the shore or close by.
• Mobs: in Java Edition, no passive animals spawn here. Rabbits do spawn in Bedrock Edition.
• At night: the usual hostile mobs, including skeletons and zombies.

Searching the coast with the snowy beach finder

Paste in your seed. The map zooms to the nearest snowy beach and marks it. The list on the left lists more snowy coastline. Click one to view it and copy its coordinates.

In game, use /locate biome minecraft:snowy_beach. Then teleport with /tp @s X ~ Z. In survival, follow a frozen river downstream, since it often reaches the coast.

Zoom in on the result to check the shoreline. Some snowy beaches are just a thin line of sand, while others are wide enough to build on.

Tips for snowy beaches

Treasure maps found in cold regions can point to a snowy beach. Dig straight down at the marked spot to find the chest.

Bring warm gear for the walk. Nearby powder snow in other cold biomes can trap you, so leather boots are a good idea.

Snowy beaches have flat ground and a clear view of the sea. That makes them a calm spot for an ice-themed harbour or a fishing hut.

Snowy beach vs regular beach

Snowy beaches share the same base as regular beaches. Both have sand on top of sandstone. The snow layer and the cold climate are the main differences.

Wildlife is another change. Turtles spawn on regular beaches but not on snowy ones. In Java Edition, snowy beaches have no passive animals at all.

Treasure stays the same. Both biomes can hold buried treasure, and shipwrecks appear along both coasts.

Snowy beaches also lead you inland to cold biomes. Snowy plains, snowy taigas and ice spikes are common just behind the sand. That makes a snowy beach a natural landing point after an ocean trip.

Building on a snowy beach takes a bit of care. Snow layers can fall on flat surfaces during snowfall. Torches and other light sources melt nearby snow layers, so place them along your paths. Ice forming along the water edge can also block a boat, so break a channel if you need one.

Snowy beach version history

Snowy beaches were added in Java 1.7.2 as cold beaches. They got their current name in the 1.13 aquatic update, which also added shipwrecks and buried treasure to the game.

Snowy Beach FAQ