Summary

  • Grand Theft Auto 5 has been out for over a decade, but there are still hidden places in the game even dedicated players may not have seen.
  • All over Los Santos and San Andreas are interesting or helpful spots tucked out of the way.
  • Some hidden GTA 5 locations may require performing glitches, as there are a number of areas that weren't meant to be accessed during gameplay.

The enduring popularity of Grand Theft Auto 5 means that millions of people have taken the game for a spin, but many of these players have never discovered all the secret locations in GTA 5. This is unsurprising considering the scope of the game, which provides players with a large, open-world map to explore and enjoy all the virtual free will they please. Being an expansive game with hundreds of different areas and locations, it's easy to get lost in the exciting adventures one can go on in San Andreas.

The most well-hidden and little-known locations scattered about the map can be hard to find without being especially observant. These range from tiny, yet useful areas that can provide shelter from potential enemies to simply creepy, mysterious locations that have a number of unanswered questions. Whether searching out secrets with friends in GTA Online or taking on the hunt alone in the single-player campaign, players who want to discover the best GTA 5 secret locations have plenty to look forward to. It's also a good way to occupy some time until GTA 6 comes out and brings more secret locations in Vice City and Leonida with it.

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12 Inside The Humane Labs

Large Empty GTA 5 Interior

Image from inside the Human Labs research facility in GTA V, showing an industrial research environment.

The Humane Labs is a research facility that is found in a more secluded area of GTA 5's map, and with a few sneaky game tricks, players can find themselves exploring the secret spaces inside this private building. The interior of this laboratory can be accessed as follows: approach the building, accept a job invite from the player character's phone, and back out of the job menu that displays. This will spawn the player inside the Humane Labs itself. In GTA 5, entering the property will immediately deploy a four-star wanted level, but no such repercussions happen in GTA Online.

From there, players can roam about and discover the miscellaneous Easter eggs that it has to offer. Unlike the other hidden labs or bunkers found in Grand Theft Auto 5, the interior of this facility is completely empty, leaving less chance of making enemies while exploring the space. It is quite a large secret area, with numerous rooms and wide spaces that players may potentially even find themselves getting lost in.

11 Clock Tower

Los Santos Vantage Point

On the west side of Los Santos stands a sky-scraping tower with a large black and white clock, and while the building is nice enough to view as it is, players can actually set foot on the very top of the structure through any form of air transport. Upon landing on one of the tower's roofs, players will discover various ladders which are placed to easily get around the upper outside areas.

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Should GTA 5 players climb one of these ladders to get to the topmost level of the tower, they get a grand 360-degree view of the entire city, as well as the perfect vantage point for shooting down enemies. Air vehicles can also be easily gunned down at this location, and is an unexpected hiding place that can effectively give players cover. It's also worth noting that the clock in the tower is connected to real time and is properly functioning, one of the great little details that help the world of GTA 5 stand out.

10 Los Santos Airport Bunker

GTA 5 Hiding Spot

Player in front of several vending machines in hidden GTA 5 bunker.

Grand Theft Auto 5 is known for having quite a few useful bunkers on the map, though this one's a little harder to find. In online mode, one of these can be stumbled upon at the Los Santos airport; players can access the location either by sneaking down a hatch on the roof or through the back doors of the area's building. Inside, the place houses quite a few objects to interact with, including a number of vending machines and a water cooler.

While it's a large enough bunker, the doors inside sadly read "Authorized Personnel Only," leaving not a lot to do or explore. However, it's a suitable location to hide from the cops as a wanted felon on the run. It is also not known for sure whether Rockstar had initial plans for this room to play a more integral role in GTA 5's main campaign, given its level of interactivity. As it stands, it has the unusual feeling of a not-quite-finished space that's still interesting to uncover.

9 Hidden Mine

Mysterious Abandoned Area

As one of the more expansive hidden locations in GTA 5, this secret mine tunnel is as interestingly designed as it is mysterious. Found in the more mountainous region of the map, players can access this secret area by detonating the wooden doors that block the place from outside entry. This isn't accessible in the original console version of the game, introduced as a surprise in the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions of Grand Theft Auto 5.

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Upon being blown up (either by grenades or any other explosive weapon), a dark entrance is revealed that leads to an eerie mine tunnel - one that extends to cover a wide range of ground, even branching off into different directions at some points in the area. Players will also discover a perplexing dead body upon venturing inside - a man dressed in typical '40s fashion. This solves the side mission "Murder Mystery" and unlocks some camera filters for the game.

8 Large Hotel Swimming Pool

Good GTA 5 Scenario Spot

Player standing by a hotel swimming pool in GTA 5.

Right in the middle of Los Santos' map is a large hotel, and within lies a large, oasis-looking swimming pool. Unmarked on the map and unseen from the streets, the creators of GTA 5 did an effective job of hiding an undoubtedly random, yet entertaining location. Players can enter this area through the doors of the hotel itself, leading to a corridor that eventually exits to an outdoor pool.

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This swimming pool area offers an elegant design of marble and palm trees, and it makes a perfect mini-feature for shooting scenarios with other players in GTA Online. The pool itself can also be interacted with and is large enough to hold a crowd of several others. Because of the exposed environment, the location can also be spotted from above via helicopter.

7 Secret Cave Bunker

Underground Facility

Player inside of a secret GTA 5 military bunker with an industrial metal look.

In a much more elusive part of the map, this hidden area can be located among one of the tiny islands of the Pacific Ocean. Players will have to access this via some form of water transport, and carefully seek out a portion of land with two trees standing side-by-side. Upon reaching the base of one of these trees, GTA 5 players will suddenly find themselves transported into a secret underground bunker, complete with mercenaries and FBI agents standing guard.

With the main part of the base designed to look like a garage, it's also easy to find a variety of vehicles on display, including a red monowheel bike. When further explored, players may also stumble upon a few police operatives having a confidential meeting in what looks like a combined office and lounge, with fancy-looking sofas, a sleek TV system, and untouched, filled shot glasses.

6 Tongva Cave

Defensible Spot

Player approaching the exit of a cave in GTA 5, with light streaming in from outside.

Yet another secret hideout, this one is elusively situated among the Tongva Hills. It is a small cave that overlooks the mountains of the San Andreas map, carefully hidden away for Grand Theft Auto 5 players to find, hidden from the rest of the territory. Players can arrive at this location through the simple means of a helicopter (or any other form of aircraft). However, it may take a while to spot, as at first glance, it may seem like a mere shadow or boulder.

There is a narrow entrance into a small, dark cave with a beautiful view of the region's mountainous horizon. Inside, a pile of rocks and a spaceship part can be found, although the area is otherwise empty. All the same, it makes for a perfect place to hide away from enemies. As a bonus, it's a properly defensible area, as bombs or booby traps can be placed around the entrance to ward off potential bounty hunters.

5 Taco Van Location

Unique GTA 5 Assault Vehicle

Player standing next to an "Attack-A-Taco" taco van in GTA 5.

If players are looking for a large, unique assault vehicle (and are a fan of tacos), this secret GTA vehicle location should be quite useful. Located to the north of Sandy Shores, a huge taco van can be found along a dirt road, right next to a few people who were probably down with the afternoon cravings. It is important that players arrive at this secret Grand Theft Auto 5 location between 1:00 PM and 2:00 PM, as the vehicle is only spawned onto the map during this time.

The van is unoccupied, saving GTA 5 players the worry of having to kick someone out of their precious food truck. One can easily hop inside and drive off with the vehicle, and - having the mechanics of a van - a second person can safely stand on its roof and be completely immune to falling onto the road. Although the location where the taco van spawns isn't one of the most interesting spots in GTA 5, it does provide one of the most useful secrets.

4 Jack Howitzer's Motel Room

TV Series Set

Players can't unlock the full potential of a Grand Theft Auto map without doing a few sly wall breaches here and there. Done successfully, wall breaches can access discoveries just as creepy as they are interesting. Set behind the back wall of the police station, players will be able to "break" the game map and jump into an empty, gray void beneath the streets of Los Santos. From there, their character must activate their parachute and glide underneath the city, eventually reaching an invisible platform that spawns the setting of a dark, abandoned hotel room.

While initially seeming like a random, mysterious site, this secret Grand Theft Auto 5 area is actually first seen in an in-game television series: the motel room of actor Jack Howitzer and his sock puppet, Ho Chi. In the show, the room was a setting for the possible murder of a sex worker, featuring Howitzer on his bed holding a gun, with bullet holes and blood sprayed across the walls and several jars of his own urine. Thankfully, the creators save players from those details in this Easter egg, though it still maintains much of the same, sinister interior as viewed from the TV scene.

3 Ghost Voices By The Seaside

Spooky GTA 5 Location

GTA 5 player looking at a phone on the seaside at night.

If GTA 5's in-game clock strikes 11:00 PM and players are ready to get spooked, this area may provide a few supernatural surprises. Located by the sea at what seems like a popular campsite (being crowded with several tents), players will eventually start hearing the eerie sounds of various ghostly voices, given that they linger at the site for long enough. This is the perfect site to seek out for anyone interested in urban legends of GTA 5 and unusual atmosphere.

These noises range from soft, sinister whispers to distant wailing screams, and randomly occur in striking contrast to the setting's tranquil sounds of ocean waves and fireflies. As the voices sound both male and female, it's safe to say the area is haunted by not one, but a number of restless souls. Also, judging from their pained shrieks, it seems that their deaths were none-too-pleasant either.

2 The Tennis Coach's House

Side Character's Home

Tennis rackets and balls lying at the foot of a wall in GTA 5.

This particular Easter egg is a little easier to spot, and it's closer to another well-known location on the map than many players would suspect. The backstory behind this little-known detail revolves around the in-game mission titled "Marriage Counseling," in which one of Grand Theft Auto 5's protagonists, Michael De Santa, comes home to his mansion in the Rockford Hills looking for his wife.

Upon arriving, he notices two suspicious tennis rackets leaning to the side of the entrance doors, triggering De Santa to rush up the stairs and into his and his wife's bedroom, where he - sure enough - catches her cheating with her tennis coach Kyle Chavis. It's during this part of the game that players chase down Chavis and eventually find him hidden in the home of businessman Martin Madrazo, which De Santa mistakes as Chavis' house and destroys. However, by traveling across from Madrazo's affluent home, players will come upon what seems like the GTA 5 tennis coach's actual home - a more rundown-looking shack littered with tennis balls and rackets all around its premises.

1 Epsilon Vantage Point

Hidden GTA 5 Vantage Point

Rooftop with cone-like structures in GTA 5.

Another wall breach trick, this hidden location can be found at the Epsilon Program building, and is once again an extremely helpful area for anyone seeking that perfect vantage point. Once at the building, it's possible to get to this secret location by climbing up the building's back ladders - leading the player to the topmost level from where various cone-like structures can be found.

These structures overlook the Los Santos roads at the edge of the Epsilon roof, and, when done correctly, the player can actually climb one of these cones and hide inside the structure itself. Though it may take a few, persistent tries, once inside, the player can then have a good top view of the streets, making it a perfect hideout for sniping unsuspecting enemies. Being fully inside a metal cone also makes a player character essentially invincible, providing complete protection from the bullets of outside attackers, a useful spot for all sorts of Grand Theft Auto 5 shenanigans.