Skyrim has an overwhelmingly large map filled with rich detail and character. You could explore tundras, mountains, and forests for hundreds upon hundreds of hours without discovering everything Skyrim has to offer. Some of the locations on this list might make you sigh ‘been there done that,’ but others are hidden gems only to be found by the bravest adventurers. From grand caverns and valleys to smaller pieces of hidden lore and unmarked locations, here are the top 15 best Skyrim locations you must adventure in.
1- Riften
You might be wondering why Riften is on this list, considering that every adventurer will have passed through Riften sometime during their travels as Dragonborn. The reason for this is simple, it is my favorite city in all the nine holds of Skyrim. This is an excellent place to visit if you are looking for quests, secrets, and lore.
Home of the infamous thieves guild, Riften is a hub of criminal activity with a canal system below the streets leading into a maze of tunnels known as the ratway. Here you can find the thieves guild’s base of operations and come across an assortment of characters willing to teach you the ropes. Besides that, you can also encounter the corrupt businesswoman, Maven Black-Briar, who might have some secrets hidden in her basement.
However, this is all just the tip of the iceberg, as Bethesda developers have clearly made a huge effort to make this area rich in storytelling and lore. Many different quests are centeredaround the city of Riften, making this an excellent place to begin an adventure and a perfect place to start this list.
I would also like to mention a glitch in my copy of the game that causes the city guards to sit on invisible chairs on the streets of Riften. This alone is a good enough reason for a visit.
What makes Riften great:
● A city filled with character and questionable charm
● Plenty of potential followers
● Plenty of trainers in the thieves guild and the market, along with one of the best blacksmith trainers in Skyrim
● Hidden notes and secret details for those who dare to look
● Plenty of quests
● Watching the Riften Guard sit in invisible seats is fun
2. Kagrenzel
Were you looking for something a bit more hidden? Mysterious? Well, then Kagrenzel has you covered.
Just North of Stony Creek Cave and far into a hard to access area just on the edge of Skyrim lies Kagrenzel. It is unlikely that you will have come across this Dwemer ruin as there aren’t really any significant quests associated with the location. Upon entry, you will discover a glowing orb in the center of the room. On the floor surrounding the sphere are the corpses of several bandits.
Considering the dead bandits, you probably don’t want to touch that orb. However, it will quickly become apparent that this is the only thing in the room. Go on, poke the shiny orb. I promise nothing bad will happen…
If you opt to touch the orb instead of turning around and leaving, then a cage will trap you in the center of the room with the orb. After about thirty seconds of loud noises, the room will suddenly go dark. The floor gives way, and you plummet into a remote cave system if you don’t die on the way down, that is.
What makes Kagrenzel great:
● A hidden gem, not associated with any main quests
● Loot you would have otherwise missed out on
● A unique and mysterious location
3. Skyrim’s Northern Coast:
Suppose you are on the hunt for loot, secrets, and treasure beyond your imagination. In that case, I recommend a gentle stroll down Skyrim’s northern coast.
The northern coast is littered with shipwrecks, secrets, and other goodies fresh for the taking. Many can be found beached on the shore, but if you are interested in doing some deep-sea diving, travel northwest from Winterhold to find Pilgrims trench.
Pilgrims trench appears as just a few barren and lifeless icebergs on first viewing. However, swim a little deeper below those dark and murky waters, and there will be a surprise waiting for you at the bottom.
Besides the shipwrecks, there are plenty of other caves, chests, and unmarked secrets to be found when wandering the icy wasteland.
What makes Skyrim’s Northern Coast great:
● Plenty of loot
● Secret areas that are usually overlooked.
● An open-ended adventure, take a walk and see what you find.
● Generally a beautiful area of Skyrim, definitely screenshot worthy.
Oh, and speaking of Northern secrets...
4. The Chill:
You may have noticed that there isn’t much to do in Winterhold besides visiting the college. As a result, it is unlikely you have been caught committing any crimes within the town and haven’t been to their prison. Wait, does Winterhold have a prison?
Yes, actually, they do. Located off the coast behind the college is a small cave known as ‘the chill.’ There isn’t anything noteworthy about this prison besides its unique location, design, and gatekeepers (frost atronachs).
Are you interested in taking a visit to the chill? In that case, I advise you to commit a despicably evil act within the town of Winterhold. Then immediately tell the guards about it. When I did this, the guard arresting me even had a unique line smugly telling me to ‘enjoy the chill.’
And I did enjoy it, I got plenty of frost salts from those atronachs.
What makes the chill great:
● A unique location, rarely accessed
● An unmarked secret location
● Not much in the way of loot, but hey, look at all these frost salts
● Pretty easy to escape from since you don’t get a bounty for killing atronachs
● For some reason, they don’t confiscate your stuff when you get sent there
5. Chest in the ice:
Really this entry is one of the many secrets of the Northern Coast of Skyrim. However, I felt this needed a separate entry of its own due to its importance in Elder Scrolls lore.
Atop an Iceberg just north of the Tower stone, you can find a treasure chest and skeleton market by an aging tattered flag. Besides the skeleton is a book, ‘the Knights of the nine,’ a historical account of a group of treasure hunters looking for Pelinal Whitesnake’s relics.
The skeleton could be a treasure hunter following in the footsteps of their heroes or alternatively. The skeleton’s location could indicate that this is Sir Amiel Lannus, founder of the Knights of the nine. Either way, this is a fascinating piece of Skyrim lore worthy of a visit.
What makes this great:
● A fun bit of Skyrim lore that might otherwise be overlooked.
● A skill book for the heavy armor skill
● Loot, who doesn’t like loot
6. The Midden:
You might be familiar with this location if you have completed the Winterhold questline. However, you might have missed some of the more mysterious sites hidden deep within the Midden’s icy tunnels.
Under the College of Winterhold lies a series of tunnels and weaving pathways full of secrets, mystery, and a lot of skeletons (Seriously, how many people died down here). Anyway, while there is plenty of wandering and exploring to be done in these tunnels, I will skip right to the chase and tell you that this is the location of a secret quest.
Reach down into the depths of The Midden Dark, and you can find this gauntlet and an inspection report. This will lead you on an adventure for some good old pirate treasure.
What makes the Midden great:
● A generally unique location
● Secret quest, do I need to say any more
● Potential for loot
● Has one of the few Atronach forges in-game
7. Torvald’s Cave:
You have probably walked right past Torvald’s cave. I mean, it doesn’t look like much from the outside, right.
Unless you have completed the ‘no stone unturned’ quest, which, let’s be honest, who has the time to find all those gems (not me), then you probably haven’t given this area the attention it deserves.
This deep Falmer-infested cave is the final resting place of Barenziah’s crown. It is full of loot, lore, and more. It seems that these caves were used by the Dunmer when escaping from Morrowind. The spirits of elves can be seen wandering the cavern making this an area of intrigue for lore hunters.
What makes Torvald’s cave great:
● Easily missed location
● Plenty of loot
● Some intriguing pieces of lore
● excellent level design, plain and simple
8. Mzinchaleft:
One of the many lost Dwemer cities littered across Skyrim, Mzinchaleft sits southwest of Dawnstar. It is not exactly a hidden or unique location. It features on this list due to its historical significance in the struggle between the Dwemer and the snow elves. Now twisted into the Falmer, they wander the ancient city waiting to wage war on the light dwellers.
Overall, this is a beautiful location, which isn’t appreciated as much as it should be. Full of loot and secret areas for exploration. I suggest that you bring plenty of water-breathing potions as a dive will be needed to explore the full scope of this ancient ruin.
What makes Mzinchaleft great:
● A historical location for all you lore seekers out there
● Massive location with plenty of easily overlooked secrets
● Again loot, as you would expect of a Dwemer city.
● Contains one of the entrances into Blackreach
● A generally fun dungeon crawl
9. Arcwind Point:
This little gem can be found tucked away into the mountains in the far west of the Rift. This is a vast open Nordic ruin, rarely discovered. It can only be accessed via a singular trail into the mountains.
I recommend you bring out the big guns for this one. There is a good chance a dragon will spawn here, which, if over level 78, will always be a legendary dragon. I also had to fight plenty of draugr deathlords during my exploration of this area, and there is a chance that you will find a dragon priest here.
If you think you have explored everything and there is nothing you cannot defeat, then Arcwind point might be your next stop.
What is great about Arcwind point:
● Hidden and not easily discovered
● Challenging enemies for those looking to test their metal
● If you have the dawnguard DCL, then you will find a wordwall here.
10.Labyrinthian:
If you have completed the college of Winterhold questline, then you will be familiar with this location and won’t be surprised to see it on this list.
This location was first constructed by the dragon priests as a temple to the dragons before it later became the city Bromjunaar. In the first era, Arch-Mage Shalidor built a labyrinth to test new students, which is how the ancient city ruin has gained its current name.
Clearly, this vast and historically significant ruin is well-deserving of a place on this list. Besides the Winterhold questline, there are two other places of note in this location. Firstly, the labyrinth built by the first arch-mage himself and also a mysterious wooden mask, which allows for the creation of a unique relic when collecting all of the dragon priest masks.
What makes Labyrinthian great:
● Massive historical significance
● Secret quests with unique rewards
● You get to fight a bone dragon. I don’t know what else to say, bone dragon.
● Location of a word wall
● Location of the staff of Magnus
11. Castle Volkivar:
Castle Volkivar is different from the other entries in this article. It isn’t a dungeon crawl with cool loot and unique items or some unknown secret location.
A foreboding, gothic style castle in the far north of Skyrim; Castle Volkivar is on this list purely for coolness points. Entering this location sometimes feels like a completely different game, as though I stepped into an Amnesia game by mistake.
Actually, I lied there is actually some pretty cool loot here. However, this is overshadowed by the level design and attention to detail, which is evident as soon as you step into that bloody feasting hall.
What makes Castle Volikivar great:
● Atmosphere and architecture
● Sheds some light on the history of vampires in Skyrim
● A lot of vampire-themed items
● Plenty of potion crafting items and soul gems for the taking
12.The Aetherium Forge:
Well then, this one is tedious to get to. This epic Dwemer ruin can only be accessed by following the questline ‘lost to the ages.’ This quest involves locating Dwemer ruins to gather aetherium shards and discover the legendary aetherium forge. A ruin that hasn't seen visitors for thousands of years.
This location allows you to craft one of three unique items as a reward for your arduous quest.
What makes the Aetherium forge great:
● An incredible fight to end a tedious quest
● Unique quest items
● Impressive level design as expected of dwemer ruins
13. Soul Cairn:
Accessed by entering a portal in Castle Volikivar, the soul cairn puts a bleak and horrifying twist on the practice of enchantment and necromancy. Here unfortunate spirits who have been trapped within soul gems wander a lonely landscape.
A unique location with unique fauna and flora, the soul cairn is full of formidable enemies and even unique spells. It’s a vast area, so if you were solely focused on the dawnguard quest, then you might have missed reapers lair where you can face off with the reaper.
What makes the Soul Cairn great:
● An eerie atmosphere and screenshot worthy sights
● Unique items only found in the soul cairn including spell books unique to this location.Game-changing lore
● Tough enemies unique to this area
14. Forgotten Vale:
Surrounded by vast unscalable mountains, the forgotten vale can be accessed via the dawnguard questline by traversing a series of tunnels.
This is another unique location complete with its own flora and fauna due to itsisolated nature. This area is full of valuable loot, hidden secrets. It plays a significant role in the history of the snow elves and the Falmer.
What makes the forgotten vale great:
● Massive quantities of hidden loot
● Unique items
● Stunning views and lots of screenshot opportunities
15.Blackreach:
Okay, you knew this was going to be at the end of this list. The stunning scenery of Blackreach, the ancient dwemer city concealed far underground, makes for an unforgettable sight.
A Blackreach is a vast underground city that can be accessed via multiple dwemer ruins and elevators. There are plenty of secrets hidden away due to the vast area this subterranean city covers. Make sure you bring a pick and perhaps a follower, as you won’t be able to carry all the loot by yourself.
What is great about Blackreach:
● A stunning location that cannot be missed.
● Plenty of high-value loot, including ores, gems, dwarven artifacts, and more
● Secrets and lore
● It is a huge area, so it’s worth returning find all of its secrets.
You may also be interested in:
The 10 Best Skyrim Enchantments
Skyrim Daedric Quests Guide (with Video)
[Top 10] Skyrim Best Combat Mods We Love!
