North Yankton is a small, frigid Midwestern-style state dominated by heavy snowfall and a quiet, rural atmosphere. Only a compact portion centered on the town of Ludendorff is accessible in Grand Theft Auto V.
Outside of glitches, North Yankton was inaccessible until Rockstar Games brought players back to the area as part of the Grand Theft Auto Online Halloween Update released in November 2024.
Geography and Environment
- Climate: Heavily snowy and wintry throughout the playable sequences.
- Terrain and layout: The accessible area is small and centered on Ludendorff, with most of the wider state implied rather than explorable. Much of the environment beyond the town appears as non-interactive backdrops, with limited roads and structures available during missions.
- Connectivity: In standard gameplay, North Yankton is only reached as part of the scripted missions.
Grand Theft Auto Online
Early GTA Online glitches temporarily enabled players to travel to a floating version of Ludendorff for exploration. While patches removed straightforward access, there remained at least one method to reach North Yankton post‑1.09.
On PC via Grand Theft Auto V Legacy and Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced, outside of single-player missions, accessing North Yankton generally requires mods or trainers or as part of the limited time event: Ludendorff Cemetery Survival Mode.
Trivia
- North Yankton appears in only two GTA V missions: “Prologue” and “Bury the Hatchet,” making it one of the series’ most self-contained story locations.
- A notable GTA Online glitch caused a “floating Ludendorff” to appear above Los Santos, featuring odd sounds and behaviors due to its partially finished state; it was later removed by a patch.
- The “Merry Christmas North Yankton” mod on PC adds festive decorations, a newly accessible building interior, a hot dog stand, and a restaurant, and requires loading the North Yankton map first.
