Honestly, Steam Gardens is a total trip. You drop into this strange, mechanical greenhouse world where robots are obsessed with watering flowers, and suddenly you're staring at a massive list of Super Mario Odyssey Wooded Kingdom Moons that seems to go on forever. It’s dense. It’s vertical. It's confusing as heck if you don't know where to look. While most players just grab the easy ones and bolt for the Metro Kingdom, they’re actually missing out on some of the most clever level design Nintendo has ever cooked up.
There are 76 Power Moons here in total. That's a lot. Most of them aren't just sitting out in the open waiting for a quick Cappy toss; they're tucked behind red iron beams, buried under piles of dirt, or hidden inside "Deep Woods," which is basically the game's version of a survival horror forest. If you fall off the map, you don't die. You just end up in the dark with a T-Rex.
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Why Everyone Struggles With Wooded Kingdom Moons
The Wooded Kingdom is built like a giant, rusty onion. You have the forest floor, the Charging Chuck area, the Iron Mountain Path, and then the secret bottom floor. Most people get turned around because the map doesn't really show elevation well. You’ll be standing right on top of a marker for one of the Super Mario Odyssey Wooded Kingdom Moons and see absolutely nothing but grass.
It’s usually because you need to capture an Uproot. These stretchy little onion-looking dudes are the MVP of this kingdom. Without them, you aren't getting anywhere. You have to stretch, then jump, then let go of the stretch mid-air to reach the high platforms. It feels clunky at first. Then it clicks.
The Deep Woods Nightmare
If you’ve ever accidentally fallen off the edge of the map and heard that ominous music change, you’ve found the Deep Woods. It’s a flat, foggy arena where a literal Dinosaur is trying to eat you. There are several moons down here, including some hidden in breakable rocks that only the T-Rex can smash. Most players panic and try to warp out immediately. Don't do that. You need to lead the T-Rex toward the glowing spots.
One of the trickiest ones involves a seed. You have to find a seed, carry it to a specific pot, and wait for it to grow. It’s slow. It’s tedious. But that’s Steam Gardens for you—it rewards patience and a bit of poking around in the corners nobody wants to visit.
Breaking Down the Hardest Wooded Kingdom Moons
Let's talk about Moon 54. "Run, Jump, and Throw on the Iron Road." This is a sub-area that tests your mastery of the Cappy jump. You can't just run through it. You have to time your triple jumps and hat throws perfectly or you’re falling into the abyss. It’s one of those "get good" moments that defines the mid-game challenge.
Then there’s the Nut hidden in the iron. You'll see these nuts all over the place. Most of them you can just hit with Cappy. But some are tucked underneath walkways where you have to hang off a ledge or use an Uproot to stretch into them from below.
Captures You Didn't Know You Needed
- The Fire Bros: You need these guys to light torches. It sounds simple, but the torches are often hidden behind breakable blocks.
- Sherm (The Tank): There’s a whole section where you have to aim and shoot at Bowser's posters or specific wall segments.
- The Glydon: High up near the Observation Deck, you can take this glider and soar halfway across the map to reach isolated pillars.
If you're hunting for Super Mario Odyssey Wooded Kingdom Moons and you're stuck at 40 or 50, check the shop. Seriously. There’s a moon you can just buy for 100 coins. Plus, there’s the Hint Toad and Uncle amiibo. Use them. There’s no shame in it when the map is this vertical.
The Post-Game Power Up
Once you beat the main story and break the Moon Rock, the Wooded Kingdom gets even more crowded. New moons appear that are significantly harder than the originals. We're talking about precise platforming and hidden paths that weren't active during your first visit.
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Specifically, look for the "Vanishing Road" challenges. These require you to run across platforms that disappear almost instantly. You need the Nut capture or just raw speed. It’s frustrating. You’ll probably die ten times. But the feeling of finally grabbing that Moon 70+ is why we play these games, right?
The "Secret Path to Steam Gardens" is another one that trips people up. You can't actually find it in the Wooded Kingdom. You have to find a painting in another kingdom—usually the Desert or the Lake Kingdom, depending on your playthrough order—to warp into a closed-off area of the woods.
Maximizing Your Moon Hunt Efficiency
Don't try to get them all in one go. You’ll burn out. The Wooded Kingdom is designed to be visited, left, and revisited later. If you can’t find a seed pot or a specific nut, move on to the next Kingdom and come back with a fresh pair of eyes.
Also, talk to the robots. The Tostarenan tourists also show up here after you’ve cleared certain story beats. They usually have a quest line that rewards you with a moon for just talking to them or showing them something from another kingdom.
Actionable Steps for Completionists
To actually finish your collection of Super Mario Odyssey Wooded Kingdom Moons, you need a system. Stop wandering aimlessly and follow this logic:
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- Clear the Story First: You can't access half the moons until the "Spewart" boss is gone and the flowers are blooming.
- The Uproot Rule: If you see a high ledge, look for an Uproot nearby. If there isn't one, look for a hidden block.
- Check the Map Borders: Nintendo loves putting small alcoves just out of sight on the cliff edges.
- Listen for the Rumble: If your controller starts vibrating, you’re standing on a hidden moon. Ground pound that spot immediately.
- The Deep Woods Sweep: Spend twenty minutes in the foggy bottom area. Get the T-Rex moons, the seed moon, and the pipe moon all at once so you never have to go back down there again.
Finding every last moon in the Steam Gardens is a grind, but it’s one of the most rewarding parts of the game because the environment is so reactive. Every time you stretch an Uproot or blast a wall with a Sherm, you're interacting with a world that feels alive, even if it is just a bunch of rusty gears and overgrown vines. Get back in there, grab the Uproot, and start stretching.