When I did my initial playthrough of Stardew Valley in 2020, Ginger Island was not a thing. I put in hundreds of hours into the game, but this update was after I had already put the game away for a few years. Then when I came back to the game, Ginger Island with all its features was available, and I couldn’t figure out anything about it. So how do you unlock it?
The first thing you need to know is that you don’t get access to it right away, because it’s more of an end game content than a natural addition to Pelican Town and it’s surroundings. It’s worth the wait though, because Ginger Island has a ton of places to visit and things to do. I estimate that it adds at least ten hours worth of content to your playthrough, so it’s definitely worth doing.
The first thing you need to do is you need to completely rebuild the community center. It doesn’t matter if you do this by donating bundles or by spending money the Joja way, both routes will unlock the island. Once that’s done, you’ll get a small quest from Willy to rebuild a boat. This quest is far easier than upgrading the community center because you just need to collect 200 Hardwood, 5 Battery Packs, and 5 Iridium Bars.
Once the boat is completed, you can begin buying tickets to Ginger Island. A round trip ticket costs 1,000 gold, and you can spend the entire day at the island if you like. If you use the obelisk from the Wizard, travelling there is much easier once you’ve unlocked the island.