Best farm layouts in Stardew Valley

Farm layouts in Stardew Valley are the foundation on which your agricultural journey takes place. Each farm layout offers unique advantages, aesthetics, and challenges that make up for a unique experience for every Stardew Valley playthrough.

There are eight farm layouts in Stardew Valley for players to choose from. While every layout is made to ensure that you have a great experience, some layouts cater to specific playstyles and preferences.

In this guide, we'll have a look at every farm layout in Stardew Valley and explore the advantages and disadvantages each offers to help you decide which one is the best for you.

Note: This list is subjective and reflects the author's opinions.

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How to choose a farm layout in Stardew Valley?

1) Standard Farm layout

The standard farm layout provides ample space for building and farming. (Image via ConcernedApe)

Best for farming
3427 tillable tiles
235 buildable tiles

This layout is a great choice for new Stardew Valley players. While this layout does not have any specific quirks, it does offer 3,472 tillable tiles. This large number of tillable land makes it ideal for farming while offering the most flexibility for future layout planning.

New players can experiment with different crops and structure placement without feeling restricted by the landscape, while expert players can use this layout as a blank canvas to create highly optimized and creative-looking farms.

Overall, the Standard Farm layout may seem plain and boring but the lack of fancy obstructions allows you to be creative without feeling restricted.

2) Forest Farm layout

The Forest Farm layout provides ample hardwood and foraging resources. (Image via ConcernedApe)

Best for foraging
1413 tillable tiles
77 buildable tiles

The Forest Farm layout in Stardew Valley offers a lush forest surrounding your farm. While this layout has less farmable land when compared to the Standard Farm, it is compensated by the presence of hardwood trees.

These trees are a valuable source of wood for crafting essential tools, buildings, and furniture. The forest area also allows you to forage resources like mushrooms, berries, and shoots throughout the year.

This layout is perfect if you enjoy its natural aesthetics and prefer foraging for resources rather than building a huge farm.

3) Hill-top Farm layout

The Hill-top layout is great for mining but requires careful structure placement. (Image via ConcernedApe)

Best for mining
1648 tillable tiles
930 buildable tiles

The Hill-top Farm layout features a hilly design with multiple levels that are connected by ramps. This layout offers a good balance of tillable land and mining opportunities. There are multiple mining points scattered throughout the farm that provide a steady supply of ore and gems. These gems can be used for crafting valuable items, tools, and decorations.

This layout is suited for players who enjoy a visual spectacle and don't mind the extra effort in optimizing their farmable spaces. This farm layout in Stardew Valley requires strategic placement of buildings and creative use of the terrain to make it truly shine.

4) Wilderness Farm layout

The Wilderness layout is great for monster hunting. (Image via ConceredApe)

Best for combat
2131 tillable tiles
444 buildable tiles

The Wilderness Farm layout offers the second-largest tillable land. However, it is unlike any other layout. At night, Wilderness Golems spawn on the farm to add an exciting twist to rather peaceful farming on other farm layouts in Stardew Valley.

While the monster invasion may be annoying for some players, it also presents an opportunity to grab some rare monster materials for crafting and selling. This layout is only recommended if you do not mind a bit of combat alongside your farming adventure.

5) Riverland Farm layout

The Riverland Farm is suitable for fishing and offers some rare fish variety. (Image via ConcernedApe)

Best for fishing
1587 tillable tiles
516 buildable tiles

With numerous fishing spots, this farm layout in Stardew Valley allows for maximum fishing opportunities and easy access to resources like seaweed and crab pots. While this layout does not offer great open space for plotting and farming, access to multiple fishing locations makes up for it by allowing access to rare aquatic resources.

That said, this layout is not recommended for Stardew Valley beginners. Fishing is not only difficult for new players but it also drains your energy very quickly. Moreover, restricted space makes farm planning difficult.

Overall, this layout is only recommended if you have some prior Stardew Valley experience and like its aesthetics.

6) Beach farm layout

The Beach layout is good for foraging and fishing and offers a lot of open space. (Image via ConcernedApe)

Best for foraging and fishing
2700 tillable tiles
1928 buildable tiles

The Beach Farm layout in Stardew Valley offers a sandy oasis area. While most of the land is not tillable, this layout is big and offers great structure-building opportunities. Moreover, supply crates and other useful items will wash up on your shore throughout the year, providing access to some rare resources.

Additionally, crab pots can be placed in the ocean surrounding the farm, generating a steady stream of valuable crab meat. While traditional large-scale crop farming isn't possible here, this layout is recommended if you like the seaside experience it offers.

7) Four Corner Farm layout

The Four Corner layout combines multiple farm types into one. (Image via ConcernedApe)

Best for multiplayer
2952 tillable tiles
All tillable can be used for building

This farm layout in Stardew Valley is designed for multiplayer use, however, you can use it in single player too. This layout combines some of the earlier-mentioned layouts into a single layout. The four corners provide a small Forest Farm, Standard Farm, Riverland, and Hilltop layout.

While each section is smaller than its corresponding full farm, the diversity allows players to experiment with different agricultural techniques within a single save file. This layout is perfect for players who have trouble choosing just one farm style and want to experience the best of all worlds.

8) Meadow Farm layout

The Meadow Farm layout is designed for raising animals rather than standard farming. (Image via ConcernedApe)

Best for animal husbandry
2050 tillable tiles
All tillable can be used for building

Introduced in Stardew Valley's 1.6 update, the Meadow Farm layout caters to those who want to invest in animal husbandry. This layout features a large area of grassy terrain and already comes with a coop with two baby chickens. This farm also comes with special "chewy blue grass" that speeds up animal befriending by 20%.

While the tillable land area is slightly smaller compared to the Standard Farm, the Meadow Farm makes up for it with its focus on animal husbandry.

Moreover, there are several ponds and a river to allow fishing. Overall, this farm is recommended if you don’t want to focus on farming but instead become a rancher and raise animals.

Choosing the best farm layout depends on your playstyle and what you want to achieve. No matter your choice, each farm layout in Stardew Valley is designed to offer you an enjoyable agricultural adventure.

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