Where's the best place to put your moonshine shack in Red Dead Online?

Red Dead best Moonshine Shack location
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

Are you looking to invest in the best moonshine shack location in Read Dead Online? Rockstar's online western world has recently gotten a cheaper, standalone version so you may be dipping into moonshine production for the first time.

You'll likely be stopping in to visit your shack often either to start up a batch or just take a sample at the bar with your posse pals. You'll want to choose a moonshine shack location that suits your style. When starting up your operation in the Moonshiner role, there are some conveniences to consider when you're choosing the best spot for your hooch-brewing hub.

How close is the moonshine shack to towns, post offices, and fast-travel spots? Are there typically a lot of other players in the area? And how difficult is it to make deliveries along the roads and trails from each shack location?

When you're preparing to buy a moonshine shack, the locations are all shown on a map, but there's really no information about which shack location is the best to choose. Here's our advice on the best Red Dead Online moonshine shack location.

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

How to buy a moonshine shack in Red Dead Online

To begin your career as a moonshiner, you'll need to either be a level 5 trader or have completed at least one trader sell mission. This isn't hard—it just means talking to Cripps in your camp, then driving a wagon from your camp to a delivery spot. Once you've done that, you'll be able to visit Maggie at Emerald Ranch to buy a moonshine shack.

Buying one costs 25 gold bars (about $10 real cash, if you haven't earned enough gold bars in-game), so be prepared to fork over some of your stash. If you're looking to make some premium currency fast, check out our Red Dead Online gold bar tips.

The best moonshine shack location in Red Dead Online

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

When buying your shack, there are five different regions to choose from:

  • Bayou Nwa
  • Grizzlies
  • Hennigan's Stead
  • Heartlands
  • Tall Trees

The moonshine shack isn't like your camp—you'll be sharing the shack with other players who have chosen the same region you did, so don't be surprised to see other players coming and going (they can't attack you if you're close to your shack, though). You can fast-travel to it, but you can't fast-travel from your shack to other locations, which is something to keep in mind when choosing your spot.

Each location has its pros and cons—here's how to make your choice.

Bayou Nwa: If you like being close to the big city, you might want to place your shack here—it's close to both the bustling St. Denis and the town of Rhodes. It's also not far from the bait and tackle shop and fast-travel spot in Lagras. The downside: being near St. Denis means a lot of player traffic. Also, you're in a damn swamp filled with hungry gators. And while the bayou has loads of atmosphere and feels suitable for moonshining from a roleplaying perspective, it's foggy and muddy and not the most beautiful place to spend your time.

Grizzlies: This is a gorgeous spot, extremely close to the post office at Wallace Station which makes it easy to pick up your mail-ordered groceries if your camp isn't placed nearby. There are meadows and a nearby pond and river, great for fishing, hunting, and gathering plants. The problem is making your moonshine deliveries on the winding, narrow, rocky roads in this region—you have to be extremely careful or you'll easily damage your moonshine, which means driving very slowly nearly the entire trip. It's a bummer.

Hennigan's Stead: This is probably the most remote of all the moonshine shack locations, way out in dusty New Austin close to the San Luis River. If you really don't want to see other players while you're going about your day, this might be the best spot for your shack. The closest town is Armadillo and there's a fast-travel spot at MacFarlane's Ranch to the north, but that's about it for nearby amenities.

Heartlands: Emerald Station is close, which is great for picking up your mail orders. You'll be making a lot of deliveries to Annesburg and Van Horn which aren't all that far, but they're not exactly close, either, so be prepared for some long trips in your wagon. There's some good hunting to do in the area, but that also means you can expect to see a lot of other players. This seems to be the most popular moonshine shack location, so keep that in mind before you buy it.

Tall Trees: This region doesn't get too crowded when it comes to player traffic, and it's moderately flat country so making deliveries isn't quite as difficult as it is in a region like Grizzlies. It's also close to Blackwater for running errands and collecting mail, and it's right next to Manzanita post, which is great if you want proximity to a fast-travel spot. The fence at Thieves Landing is close by as well. For my money, this is the best moonshine shack location in Red Dead Online.

(Image credit: Rockstar Games)

How to move your moonshine shack

If you're unhappy with your moonshine shack's location, you can move it to another region whenever you want. In the player menu (by default, pressing L will bring it up) under Camps and Properties, select your shack and you'll be given the choice of where to move it. Each time you move your shack, it'll cost you $250.

Christopher Livingston
Senior Editor

Chris started playing PC games in the 1980s, started writing about them in the early 2000s, and (finally) started getting paid to write about them in the late 2000s. Following a few years as a regular freelancer, PC Gamer hired him in 2014, probably so he'd stop emailing them asking for more work. Chris has a love-hate relationship with survival games and an unhealthy fascination with the inner lives of NPCs. He's also a fan of offbeat simulation games, mods, and ignoring storylines in RPGs so he can make up his own.