How to Find Trail Ruins in Minecraft (1.20)

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: Trail ruins hide almost fully buried in taigas, snowy taigas, old growth forests and jungles - only the tip of a colored terracotta tower pokes out. Dig down with a brush and excavate the suspicious gravel for exclusive pottery sherds.

What you need

Brush (essential)
Shovel (for the gravel and dirt)
Torches (the structure is buried)

Step by step

Search the right forests: trail ruins generate in taiga, snowy taiga, old growth pine and spruce taiga, old growth birch forest and jungle biomes.
Look for the tower tip: the whole structure is buried except the top of a glazed terracotta tower - a few oddly colored blocks poking out of the forest floor.
Dig down from the tip: the ruins spread underground - a cobblestone main road, small buildings and the central tower made of stained and glazed terracotta.
Spot the suspicious gravel: it looks almost identical to normal gravel but slightly rougher - common and rare variants hide different loot tables.
Brush, do not dig: excavate suspicious gravel with a brush - breaking it destroys the loot inside.
Mind the floaters: some suspicious gravel generates floating and falls if you update a neighboring block - clear around it before it breaks.
Collect the exclusive sherds: trail ruins have their own pottery sherd set, plus dyes, emeralds and rare loot in the rare suspicious gravel.
Rebuild the story: the ruins resemble a lost village - the glazed terracotta patterns and road layout make them one of the prettiest archaeology sites to uncover fully.

Java vs Bedrock

Trail ruins are one of the very few structures that generate at the same coordinates in Java and Bedrock with the same seed - handy if you follow a guide video from the other edition.

Versions: Added in 1.20 Trails & Tales (23w12a) as the land-based archaeology structure, with the amount of gravel, dirt and suspicious gravel tweaked during the snapshots.

Frequently asked questions

Where do trail ruins spawn in Minecraft?

Buried in heavily forested biomes: taiga, snowy taiga, old growth pine and spruce taiga, old growth birch forest and jungle. Only the tip of a colored terracotta tower shows above ground.

What loot is in trail ruins in Minecraft?

Brushing their suspicious gravel yields exclusive pottery sherds, dyes, emeralds and other archaeology loot - common and rare suspicious gravel have different loot tables, and the rare stuff hides in the building pieces.

Why can I not find anything at a trail ruin?

Because almost the entire structure is underground. Dig down from the terracotta tower tip and follow the road - and use a brush on any slightly rough-looking gravel, since that is the suspicious kind with loot inside.