Secrets & Easter Eggs

'Jesus Saves' Graffiti

In Grand Theft Auto 2, the only way for players to save their progress was to visit a church featuring a sign which read 'Jesus Saves'. Artwork in Los Santos features the same slogan, along with imagery of a heart, the Virgin Mary and an angel, and is widely interpreted to be a nod to Rockstar's earlier Grand Theft Auto game.

Vice City Hidden Package

To the North, across the bridge from Grove Street, just across the road from the basketball courts, an orange building labelled 'Waka Theater Xymposium' can be seen featuring a large green tiki-statue as part of it's logo. Fans of previous GTA games will recognise this as one of the 100 'hidden packages' which Tommy Vercetti can find scattered around Vice City.

Ghost Graffiti

If you visit the Los Santos cemetery between 8pm and 6am at night, graffiti will appear on a wall which reads 'Families 4 Life'.

Northstar Rock

In the grassy hills just to the North of Los Santos is a hilly stone area. On the printed map which comes with the game, this is labelled as Northstar Rock, a play on words of 'Rockstar North', the games' developer. In game, however, the actual area is displayed only as 'North Rock'.

True Grime: Street Cleaners Billboards

Throughout San Andreas, notably in West Los Santos, large billboards can be seen advertising True Grime: Street Cleaners. This is a parody of the True Crime: Streets of LA video game created by Luxoflux which launched in 2003, the year before GTA San Andreas, and hoped to provide some competition in the crime game genre against Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series.

Candy Suxx

A large billboard can be seen advertising a Candy Suxx film called Vinewood Call Girls. Candy Suxx does not play a physical part in GTA San Andreas, however this is a reference to her character, an adult film star, in GTA Vice City.

Lewd Statue

Inside the atrium, seen during the mission 'Just Business' for Big Smoke, a central statue appears to be playing with himself or taking a piss while four outer statues try to cover their eyes.

Los Santos' Tallest Building - Base Jump

If you head to the largest building downtown, you'll find a yellow arrow which allows you to teleport to the rooftop where you'll find a parachute allowing you to base jump from the building.

Breakable Bridge

The bridge which crosses Grove Street features a central section which is breakable by driving a vehicle into it, or blasting it with explosives. This is actually where a scene involving Tenpenny and a firetruck occurs in the final mission of the game, but the middle section of the bridge is breakable throughout the entire game if you crash hard enough into it.

Police Brutality

If you head into the police station car park behind the main building in downtown Los Santos, you'll spot two cops assaulting a pedestrian in the far corner. Although this is common throughout America these days, it's likely this is a reference to the story of Rodney King which led to the Los Angeles riots of 1992. Read more about the Los Santos Riots below.

Spike's Crypt

In the TV series 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer', one of the characters, Spike, is a vampire who lives in a crypt. Inside the Vinewood cemetery is a crypt featuring an open tomb, pizza boxes, a chair and a TV leading many to see similarities with the show.

Catalina's Unmarked Graves

Not far from Catalina's cabin, a floating shovel weapon pickup is hovering above three unmarked graves. Throughout Carl's time with Catalina during the story, she often discusses how she wants to kill all the men she meets, so it's quite likely these graves belong to three of her former partners.

Max Pane - Bulletproof Glass

In Dillimore, there is a gas station which is robbed by Catalina and Carl as part of the story. A label on the window of the gas station states 'Max Pane - Bulletproof Glass'. Max Payne is another series which Rockstar Games has been involved with, publishing the first two games and developing Max Payne 3. This is clearly a nod to those games.

The 'Ghost Car'

While wandering through the countryside near Angel Pine, the player may sometimes see a car appear to drive down a hill and stop. Upon closer inspection, it turns out there's nobody driving the car leading to many fans to believe this is a ghost-related easter egg.

A more likely explanation is that the car is spawned at the top of a hill as the player gets within a certain distance, and gravity then causes it to roll down the hill.

Abandoned Wheelchair

Perched right on the end of a wooden dock in Palomino Creek, overlooking Fisher's Lagoon is a suspicious looking wheelchair. In-game there is no explanation, however some fans believe this may be a movie reference to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

The wheelchair appears to be textured with other objects from the game world and a recycling sign can be seen in the Definitive Edition of the game.

Biowaste Well

Tucked away behind some buildings in Montgomery, notably the Inside Track betting shop, is a fenced-off well with a sign labelled 'Biowaste'. At night the well can be seen emitting a green glow.

Hankypanky Point

To the North East of Palomino Creek is a hilly area surrounded by trees. Upon arrival, the game will update the location to 'Hankypanky Point'. Although nothing can be found there in-game, it was mentioned multiple times in the games' build-up, with the official website listing it as a 'Local beauty spot notorious as a make-out location. Popular with young couples and dirty old men'. Interestingly, the location is spelled with two words in-game but was referred to as 'Hanky Panky Point' in promotional materials.

Scott Wilson's Grave

In the Palomino Creek graveyard is a tombstone etched with the name 'Scott Wilson'. It turns out Scott is actually one of the games' developers credited with countryside art. Seems like he couldn't resist leaving a personal easter egg for himself.

Angel Pine's Vice City Trash Can Maps

Across the road from the Cluckin' Bell in Angel Pine are a number of metal trash cans. If you knock them over and look inside, you'll notice that a number of Vice City maps are hidden under the trash.

After knocking the trash cans over, if you drive around the block, most of the trash will disappear giving you a clearer view inside.

The map isn't actually 100% accurate compared to the one seen in GTA Vice City, and is most likely from earlier in development. Maybe this is why they've been thrown in the trash?

Gant Bridge - 'No Easter Eggs' sign

Right at the top of the Gant bridge, on the Southern (San Fierro) side, a secret sign can be found which says 'There are no Easter Eggs up here. Go away'. Left there by Rockstar with the obvious expectation that gamers would explore their recreation of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Gant Bridge Visitor Center - Actual Piece of Cable

The Gant Bridge visitor center can be found at the North of San Fierro. If you head through the car park you'll come to an exibit showing an actual piece of cable from the bridge with a sarcastic message.

"Oooooh amazing.
That's mind blowing.
Actually, no, it's simple physics and not really that impressive."

Gant Bridge Visitor Center - Bridge Facts

Further up the steps behind the Gant Bridge Visitor Center is another information board with some Bridge Facts, which differs slightly depending on the version of the game you're playing.

Definitive Edition Bridge Facts

"Length - 159.7m
Height - 60.3m above sea level
34815 polygons inc. LODs
3 babies born during construction
40 textures
Takes up a staggering 38.9mb of disk space."

Original Game Bridge Facts

"Length - 159.7m
Height - 60.3m above sea level
15000 polygons inc. LODs
600m draw distance
11 textures
Takes up a staggering 1.27mb of disc space."

Cobra Marital Arts Gym

The gym in San Fierro is intentionally misspelled as 'Marital Arts', as in to be married, rather than Martial Arts referring to combat. The gym itself appears to be inspired by the Cobra Martial Arts gym from The Karate Kid movie.

Strangely, the banners inside the gym correctly spell the name as 'Martial Arts'.

The Wizard Of Ass

A movie theater in San Fierro advertises a new movie called The Wizard of Ass, clearly a joke at the expense of the world famous 1939 film 'The Wizard of Oz'.

Dev Computer At Easter Bay Airport

If you look inside the security kiosks at the gates to the Easter Bay airport, a computer can be seen. Upon zooming into the screen, we can see what appears to be some form of game development or map editing tools. This is possibly a screenshot from when the game was in early development.

Vice City & Manhunt Figures At Zero's RC Shop

There are a lot of toys and figures to be seen inside Zero's RC Shop, including notable references to some of Rockstar's other games including Tommy Vercetti and Lance Vance from GTA Vice City and James Earl Cash and Piggsy from Manhunt.

A toy car (RC Bandit) and helicopter (RC Baron) can also be seen in the store, bearing a very similar model to those seen in GTA III and Vice City.

In the Definitive Edition of the game, action figures of Impotent Rage can be seen on the shelves, however this is somewhat controversial because the character probably didn't exist in 1992 when the game is set, having been first seen in Grand Theft Auto V which is set in 2013.

RIP Opposition 1997-2004

In the graveyard located in Hashbury, San Fierro, each tombstone bears the insignia of Rockstar Games along with an inscription that reads 'RIP Opposition 1997-2004'.

This is widely interpreted as a nod to Rockstar Games' dominance in the gaming industry during the release of GTA San Andreas in 2004. It may also allude to the end of the rivalry with Reflections Interactive's Driv3r, which debuted earlier in the year but garnered unfavorable reviews, effectively settling the competition between the two game developers.

Zombotech Corporation

Zombotech is a Rockstar Games parody of the Umbrella Corporation from Resident Evil. Their headquarters can be found in downtown San Fierro, inside the large building with a glass foyer.

Inside the building is a large DNA helix shaped sculpture, where a Snapshot can be taken, and the company logo is also based on a DNA helix, much like The Umbrella Corporation.

Signs near the buildings elevator makes reference to an underground zombie lab, with other notices sarcastically welcoming visitors to the 'Sinister Zombie Virus Research Corporation'.

Vank Hoff In The Park

More adult humor by Rockstar Games. The hotel located in Queens, where CJ can purchase a suite, is named 'Vank Hoff in the park'. Vank Hoff sounding very similar to 'wank off', suggesting masturbation in the park.

Misty's Bar

Just down the street from the gym in San Fierro is a bar named Misty's, which is likely to be a nod to the character from Grand Theft Auto III.

Big Pointy Building

If you visit the base of the big pointy building which dominates San Fierro's skyline, there is a small black entrance which will take you to the top giving you a great view of the city and allowing you to base jump with a parachute.

Kruton 9000

A potential girlfriend called Michelle can be found inside the San Fierro Driving School. If you make her your girlfriend you'll be able to use her downtown garage to repair your car for free.

Inside her garage you'll find a computer which is labelled 'Kruton 9000'. This machine appears in all three of the trilogy games, inside Joey's garage in GTA III, at Sunshine Autos in GTA Vice City and here in San Andreas.

It doesn't actually do anything, just an interesting bit of trivia!

Michelle's Tools

Another thing you'll find inside Michelle's downtown garage, in addition to the Kruton 9000 computer, is a workbench covered in her tools... Which just so happen to be a wide variety of sex toys.

USS Numnutz

A submarine docked at the North of San Fierro is labelled 'USS Numnutz' which appears to be a spoof of the real-world United States Aircraft Carrier named 'USS Nimitz'.

The submarine is nothing but a decoration in game and can't be used as a vehicle, although you will find one of the 50 San Fierro Snapshots hovering on top of it when you look down the lens of a camera.

Mass Grave Near Area 69

In the desert, slightly North-West of Area 69, South of Verdant Meadows Airfield or across the street from the Snake Farm is a large hole in the ground with what appears to be six brown body bags inside. There is often a Bobcat pickup truck parked nearby, suggesting it has recently dumped the bodies.

Cock Rock

Just to the West of Verdant Meadows Airfield is a giant vertical rock with round boulders at it's base, resembling a large cock and balls. Knowing Rockstar's humor, this was definitely intentional.

Lil' Probe Inn

There are numerous references to aliens throughout the game, and players searched for them for years without any joy, but there is a UFO to be seen near Area 69 as part of the sign for the Lil Probe Inn.

Carl can enter the building to discover it's an alien themed bar. The walls are decorated with UFO sightings and a large map can be seen highlighting potential alien hotspots.

In the definitive edition of the game, the photos have been updated and appear to show screenshots from Grand Theft Auto V.

Torino's Map

Like the Lil' Probe Inn, Torino's ranch also contains a map with various points of interest labelled. Given his top secret clearance, it's likely these are UFO sighting locations, however upon exporing these areas in-game, nothing can be found.

Fort Carson Tunnel

Right under the rail bridge that crosses the water to Fort Carson, slightly North-West from the safe house, is a very well hidden rock tunnel. In the center of it you'll find a police bribe to reduce your wanted level by one star. Other than that, there doesn't seem to be much point to this tunnel, but it's so well hidden that not many people will stumble upon it by accident.

'Regular Tom' Geyser

Not far from the Sherman Dam and the big ear satellite, a geyser can be found on a salt plain.

Pedestrians can be seen taking photographs of the geyser and this is one of a very limited number of places in the game where you'll actually see pedestrians with cameras.

In the original version of the game, the geyser would squirt water every 30 seconds or so, however in the Definitive Edition, likely due to a bug, the water jet can only be seen from a distance.

It's thought the name 'Regular Tom' takes inspiration from the real-world 'Old Faithful' geyser in Yellowstone National Park.

V-Rock Hotel

The V-Rock Hotel in Las Venturas is a music-themed hotel named after the V-Rock radio station from GTA Vice City. It appears Rockstar have also taken inspiration from the real world Hard Rock Hotel chain.

Manhunt References at Police Headquarters

On a pin board inside the LVPD Headquarters, mugshots of James Earl Cash and members of The Hoods can be identified, a crossover from Rockstar Games' Manhunt game.

CJ Target

Inside Ammu-Nation stores which contain a gun range, such as the one in Downtown Los Santos, a target of Carl Johnson can be seen inside the shop.

The artwork used for the target has actually been cropped from one of Rockstar's official GTA San Andreas screenshots, released in the build up to the games' release, displayed below.

Moon Sniping

Continuing the trend from previous Grand Theft Auto games, if the player uses a sniper rifle to shoot the moon in the night sky, it will change in size 8 times through small, medium and large.

This feature was actually added by developer Obbe Vermeij because other devs and artists couldn't agree on the size of the moon, as he explained in a 2024 post.

"The artists gave me a texture for the moon in gta3. I placed the moon in the sky, made sure it was visible at night and that it was a reasonable size. A few days later 4 artists were at my desk asking me to change the size of the moon. 'No problem' I said.

It turned out they couldn't decide what the size of the moon should be. Two of them wanted it smaller to be more realistic. The other two wanted it larger to be more cinematic.

This went on a bit and I suggested to make the size of the moon changeable in the game. This way they could decide in their own time and let me know the conclusion. Since I was working on the sniper rifle, I made it so that the moon toggled through 3 sizes (small, medium, large) as the player sniped it.

The artists never got back to me so I just left it in. It was still there in SA."

Bitch'n' Dog Food

Inside many of the enterable supermarkets throughout the game, players may spot cans of dog food on the shelves. They are labelled with the 'Bitch'n' Dog Food' brand which is run by Marty Chonks in Grand Theft Auto III.

The cans also list their ingredients as 'Pussy Flavored Horse Eyelids' which we assume is a firm favorite amongst canines.

Madd Dogg's Rhymes - Driver / Refractions Reference

When Carl sneaks through Madd Dogg's mansion in order to steal his rhyme book, he'll walk past a guard playing a video game on a TV. While playing, the guard remarks 'This sucks. I mean, how could Refractions mess up so bad? Tanner, you suck!' which is a clear dig the Reflections Interactive game Driver, once seen as direct competition to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series.

The game played by the guard can't be all that bad though, because the same sound effects can be heard from the game played by Big Smoke in the final mission of the game.

Reuniting The Families - A Taste Of Come

A bit of adult humor. At the end of the mission 'Reuniting The Families', the Grove Street Families escape the police by driving their car through a billboard. The car smashes a hole through a Sprunk advertisement, changing the message from 'A taste of things to come' to 'A taste of come'.

This doubles up on the already humorous name of the Sprunk drink, a parody of Sprite, but also very similar to spunk, a colloquial term for sperm.

Wear Flowers In Your Hair - Vice City Boatyard Reference

When CJ and The Truth are driving around looking for people to help with the garage in Doherty, Truth says he knows two guys, Dwaine and Jethro, who can help. They 'used to work on marine engines, 'til the mob bought their business over in Vice'.

This is a clear reference to the Boatyard in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City which is purchased by Tommy Vercetti, with both characters seen smoking weed on a boat during the cutscene with Tommy.

Black Project - Gordon Freeman's Crowbar

Inside one of the science labs during the Black Project, a crowbar can be seen on a desk. This is a clear reference to Gordon Freeman from Valve's infamous game Half-Life, who uses a crowbar as a weapon to escape a science facility called Black Mesa.

Normally the player can't enter the room with the crowbar, but can see it through the window, however exploiting a glitch to get under the map and flying through 'Blue Hell' with the jetpack can allow Carl to gain entry to the room in the Area 69 base.

The crowbar cannot be picked up and is not a usable weapon in the game.

Black Project - Running With Scissors

If Carl is detected when sneaking into the underground base at Area 69 on the Black Project mission, a number of announcements echo around the base, one of which states 'personnel are reminded that running in corridors whilst holding scissors is not permitted'. Running With Scissors is the name of another video game developer, famous for the Postal games which fit into a similar genre to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto games and this appears to be a nod to them.

Architectural Espionage - Rockstar Logo

On the top floor of the planning department when tasked with capturing a photo of the Caligula's Casino blueprints, a large sculpture can be seen featuring the Rockstar Games 'R*' logo.

Architectural Espionage - Starkweather's Estate

In an additional room at the top floor of the planning department, blueprints labelled 'Starkweather's Estate' can be seen. This is a direct reference to Rockstar's game Manhunt.

Riot - Los Angeles Riots

One of the final story missions involves the city of Los Santos going into meltdown with pedestrians rioting across the city following corrupt police officer Frank Tenpenny's release without charge. This mission is inspired by the real life Los Angeles riots in 1992 which began when a jury acquitted four LAPD officers who were charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King, despite strong evidence to suggest they were guilty.

End Of The Line - Not Welcome Mat

Right before entering the main room at the top of Big Smoke's crack den in the final mission of the game is a welcome mat featuring a Rockstar North logo labelled 'Not Welcome'.