Fire and water shouldn’t coexist, yet at Eternal Flame Falls near Buffalo, a small orange flame dances behind cascading water like nature’s own sleight of hand. This 30-foot waterfall in Chestnut Ridge Park shelters one of geology’s strangest party tricks—a natural gas seep that can burn for long periods in a protected grotto, creating a scene that looks more like fantasy than Western New York reality.
Where Ancient Rock Becomes a Gas Station
Four-hundred-million-year-old shale formations fuel this geological oddity with an unusually rich gas mixture.
The Devonian-era Rhinestreet Shale lying 1,300 feet beneath your hiking boots contains organic matter that’s been cooking into natural gas for eons. Unlike typical methane seeps, this underground cocktail packs 35% ethane and propane—a composition that puzzled Indiana University researchers who studied the site in 2013.
The gas bubbles up through rock fissures, concentrating in the waterfall’s natural cave where overhanging stone protects the flame from wind and spray. You’ll smell it before you see it. That faint rotten-egg scent comes from hydrogen sulfide mixed with the escaping gas, turning your approach into a sensory treasure hunt.
Key Visitor Details:
- One-mile round-trip hike from Chestnut Ridge Park trailhead
- Best viewing: Early spring when snowmelt feeds the creek
- GPS coordinates: 42.70158° N, 78.75113° W
- Expect muddy trails, creek crossings, and wet feet
- Limited roadside parking—arrive early on weekends
The Flame Keeper Ritual
Visitors become temporary guardians of this geological wonder when wind or rain extinguishes the fire.
The “eternal” flame isn’t actually permanent—strong weather can snuff it out, transforming each hiker into a potential flame keeper. Carrying a lighter has become an unspoken trail tradition, with strangers relighting the fire for the next visitor in an informal passing of the torch that would make the Olympic committee proud.
Standing in the grotto feels surreal. Water crashes down mere inches from the flickering flame while the cave amplifies both the roar of the falls and the quiet hiss of escaping gas. The juxtaposition hits you like discovering your phone still works after dropping it in the lake—technically possible, but it never stops feeling miraculous.
Spring visits offer the most dramatic contrast when flowing water diffuses the flame’s light like a natural lampshade.
The experience transcends typical waterfall tourism, offering both Instagram gold and genuine geological wonder within 20 minutes of downtown Buffalo. For travelers seeking authentic oddities over manufactured attractions, this burning waterfall delivers proof that nature’s best tricks happen in the most unexpected places.
