Flaming Geyser State Park

As others have said, this is a great spot for a walk along the Green River or a family picnic. There are plenty of picnic tables, picnic shelters, BBQ’s, a radio controlled mini airplane field. There are bathrooms, but no water or trash cans. I think it’s a pack out situation.
Trail access information:
I visited in April and the river was rushing. It looks like it would be a fantastic summer swimming or floating spot. The drive to get there is scenic, although I wouldn’t go way out of my way to visit, but if you are close by, it’s very pretty. WARNING! Follow the rules. The other reviewers are right about the park personnel being strict. As I was walking along the river, and passing through a picnic spot, I saw two park personnel pull up in a truck to speak to a man and a woman who were BBQ’ing and playing mariachi music. They told them to turn it off even though it was a picnic spot all on its own and I’m pretty sure no one else could hear the it unless you were passing through their picnic spot or driving along the road.

Very large park! Pretty river with lots of trails! The geysers were honestly a little disappointing. They’re an interesting read but literally nothing to look at. The hiking trails are fun but can end pretty quickly! Was a fun little day trip to kill some time or to have a picnic!

Don’t come for the geyser, come for a family picnic, to watch the remote controlled airplanes, or to float down the river. There are several trails to explore, most of which are very easy going.
The geyser has been mostly out of juice for many, many years and is really nothing more than a hole in the ground now. Another couple asked if we had a lighter so I figured, why not? The flame was actually much larger than I thought it was going to be, about 6 inches high (hold on a second while I make sure my eyebrows are still intact). Of course there’s not much methane left and it fizzled out in about 20 seconds. There’s also the bubbling geyser not too far away, which is equally disappointing. If you have a discover pass, go ahead and spend some time here, but it’s not really worth the $ 10 day charge if you don’t.

There’s plenty of open space and tables for families, especially little ones. The majority of the trails are easy to medium, with a few that are steep for those that need a better workout. Charming place by the river. If you’re expecting to see huge geysers, well, that’s not what this is.

This is a park I grew up going to but I’ll never go back.
The Park Rangers seem bent on intimidating people and making them feel unwelcome.
I brought my 4 boys and wife on Monday to go float the river on Inner-​Tubes. It was hot and we were all excited. We brought 2 cars so we could drop one car off at the park where we’d finish the float. The Rangers were flat out rude and mean. They wouldn’t allow me to wait for my wife as she parked 75 yards away. As I pulled away one of the rangers followed me in his little truck and pulled me over because I was waiting for my wife who was now only 25 yards away. He gave me a ticket and was very rude.
Won’t be back.

The namesake geyser is the centerpoint of the park’s an unassuming exploratory hole drilled in the 20’s was set a flame. Back in its day the flame shot up to 4 feet high. Now you are lucky if it’s even aflame. Park rangers have been spotted taking a lighter to it when the wind blows it out. The rest of the park skirts the green river and is a popular place to go floating. Picnic benches and grill dot the park for day use. There is no camping. Fishing and hiking are other activities enjoyed in the park. Bring your Discover pass. Day passes can be purchased at the gate.

Flaming Geyser State Park is really a pretty park!
There is a section in the park near the entrance where people can go into a field and fly their RC flying devices! I thought that was cool!
Further in the park is a beautiful array of pic nic tables in a lush, green clearing. Gorgeous!
The Flaming Geyser itself is not the kind of geyser I had in mind. It is not anything like the hot water pools and water geysers that you see in Yellowstone. We were given false information from a so called «trusted» source that these geysers were similar to the Yellowstone ones, just not as spectacular. Wrong. Apparently our source has never been to Yellowstone! This is a methane gas geyser. The geyser is connected to a methane gas pocket deep in the ground. The geyser would be undetectable since methane is odorless and colorless unless someone lights the escaping gas with a flame. The geyser is cool to look at and was worth investigating. Sometimes though the opening is not lit. People may put it out, seepage and flooding from the nearby river may quench it or it may just simply blow out. I don’t know if hikers or park staff relights it or not but I heard passersby do it. For me I would probably singe myself if I tried to do it so I am glad it was lit. It costs about five bucks to get into the park and many come to see the geyser and feel put out when the geyser is well… put out too! I don’t blame them! That is why I suggest getting a year long pass to Washington’s state parks. That way if you feel like your experience was subpar you can easily go to another state park that is better without further expense. I used to dismiss ignitable swamp gas as superstition because the people I would talk to about it usually said flammable swamp gas and spiritual glowing orbs in the same sentence. I am glad it exists without the superstition!
Despite the possible negative effect of not having a lit methane geyser when you are there there are other negative elements as well. There is a path that used to go passed Flaming Geyser to another methane gas geyser called Bubbling Geyser. That path now is overgrown and a foot bridge that was once part of the trail has fallen into disrepair. There may be other ways to get to this other geyser but it may not be lit since no one seems to go there now. The original trail is fenced off so you cannot defy nature and go to it the old way. The sign that once pointed to where Bubbling Geyser is has been removed.
Speaking of defying nature or nature defying us… After we went to the geyser we decided to go on a little hike along a path. Who knows maybe it would take us to the other geyser. And perhaps it would have but we got stopped short. The path we went on was gorgeous but I could tell right away that we could not casually brush up against some plants. There were stinging nettle plants in various places so we had to be very careful not to let our skin touch them. It was not long before we had to completely turn around because poison ivy or oak completely obscured the path from both sides. We were using the three leaves, let them be rule.
We went to the park office but no one was there, despite several cars parked out front… come to think of it no one was in the toll booth either.
It is sad that so many of Washington’s state parks have fallen into disrepair where trails cannot be maintained and cut back some as well as maintaining their attractions that some state parks got their namesake from. Here is hoping a budget can be passed so things can get back on track and the state parks are not closed too long (if they do close because of funding issues) and are restored to their former glory!

Beautiful. Great location. Go for the trails, not the geyser.

The main problem with this state park is that it is called Flaming Geyser and everyone gets excited about it (myself included). Really though, this place has exceptionally clean bathrooms, nice trails, and SPAWING SALMON! It was a truly incredible experience to watch fish struggling up the creek. Interpretive signs were excellent and informative. We had a great time – but as a disclaimer, don’t come for the geyser, and if you do, make sure to bring some matches!

DO NOT head out here looking for any flame, there is none. There is a hole in the ground with a pipe around it and rocks, that’s it. Also the trail to the bubbling geyser was out as were ALL other trails. The hiking areas of this State park are so poorly maintained they really should take down their hiking maps.
The only thing people appeared to be doing at this park was floating the river. This put in spot for inner tubes, rafts and other floating devises was extremely busy. Maybe it’s time to rename the park something like Green River Float Park, the name would be more accurate and way less misleading.
I felt cheated and want my 5 bucks back LOL.

Park was nice and clean with plenty of picnic tables and grills… but Flaming Geyser State Park wasn’t so FLAMIN’.
The geyser wasn’t so hot and you could barely see the flame. We understand that it is natural gas and that’s cool. You can float down the river in a raft or a big inner tube and enjoy mother nature. The park has a few areas that have information about salmon and wildlife. Near the entrance, there is an area where people can fly their remote controlled helicopters/​airplanes.
Wife and I thought it was kind of weak and expected more hiking/​walking.
Jaidyn, the 11 year old was just like «whatever».
Omar, the 20 month year old had a blast, he played in the water and threw rocks.
Overall, if you are lazy, old, or don’t want much physical action then make some sandwiches and grab some fruit and have a nice picnic and a small walk or you can just go down to your local park. Not worth my 10 bucks and the 45 minute drive, but the park staff was friendly.

My all time favorite thing to do on a hot summer day is to go float the Green river at Flaming Geyser. I grew up in the area so I’ve been doing it since I was a kid and it never gets old.
Usually it’s wild and crazy! Packed with people partying on all sorts of floatation devices and at the various stopping points along the ride.
1^st stop has a small island, waterfall and rope swing. 2^nd sometimes, if you’re lucky, has a DJ pumping sounds from across river which usually induces some girls gone wild action ;) Last stop is beer bottle beach named so for the even crazier days back when it was the go to spot to party on the river because it’s not park property. Now because of stupid drunks hurting themselves or drowning, laws are more strictly enforced. This is one of the most beautiful spots on the river though. The riverbed is one giant solid rock that waves through the river creating dips and canals that make nice spots for sitting in the cool waters.
This year because of the new parking fees, life jacket law and horrible weather, the river has been more quite than I have ever seen before. It’s been nice and relaxing to have the river almost all to ourselves all summer but I hope those crazy river days come back next year when our 90 degree days return! (hopefully)

When you go to a state park with a reputation of having a geyser, you expect something amazing, an interesting sight, perhaps something you have never seen before. What you get at Flaming Geyser is a tiny little flame, that has to be lit by the park care takers, because a slight breeze will blow it out. That is where we just begin.
Not only do they not enforce the parking rules, letting people park their vehicles any where, including on the state park grass it self, but their is an utter lack of law being enforced around the area. With trash cans that never seem to get picked up, construction that takes a year to even start, halting any ones attempt to actually see the rest of the park.
Over a span of 4 months we went back to Flaming Geyser, during which there was construction being done on the park to fix the washed out paths around the area. During this entire 4 month period, nothing was fixed, restored or even resolved one bit. In fact the construction tape had fallen to the ground and the cones blocking off area’s were stuck with stickers and spray paint, never being fixed or replaced.
On top of it, the Park has BBQ pits, that never seem to be cleaned, I am sorry but the only place I want my meat to be cooked in a dirty environment is a 60 year old dirty Meat smoker, not in my state park grounds.
Hi City, try cleaning up your State Parks once in a while, it wouldn’t hurt to actually enforce the pay to park ether, its pretty bad when you see a family tell their 9 year old daughter to go shove a note pad into the dollar bill slot, to fool the park care takers…
Their are way better parks then this dump, find them and never go back to Flaming Geyser State dump

I have gone to flaming geyser quite a bit over the years, however not in the past few so this may be a bit dated of a review. Either way Im sure that a state park does not change much (especially since the state is having such financial troubles they can’t afford to do updates). If you have never ventured out here, it is worth the drive at least once. There are two different routes to take once you exit Hwy 18, both take about the same amount of time, I have tried each way equally and it is never enough of a difference to choose one over the other. Just depends if you want a long straight shot, or a very windy yet picturesque drive.
One of the many reasons that people visit this park is tubing down the Green River. There are places in Auburn that rent tubes if you check them out in advance. Pretty reasonable rates too. Just be aware of the time of year when deciding to float it. The green river can be a very dangerous place if it is running too swiftly. An old ex-​boyfriend of mine attempted to go rafting early in the season with his favorite nephew and on the entry into the river, the raft got away from him and his nephew was sucked downstream into a log jam and died! So be careful! Respect the power of nature please!
Otherwise its a great day outing to float with a group of friends or family. Pack a cooler and hit the river. Entry point is towards the eastern side of the park, and exit is the bridge at the intersection down the hwy (you will see it on your way in).
If you are not into rafting there is a really great spot if you cross the large field and take the small trail towards the right hand corner that leads off into the woods. It will take you to a swimming hole and beach area that is very chill and fun to hang out on. Its a bit of a hike, but a nice spot.
As another reviewer posted do pay attention to the rules regarding alcohol in the park. Its at your own risk and depends on how heavy the presence of rangers are, they are VERY good at patrolling and checking. We were given a ticket once and had to leave for the rest of the day. After that we visited the section just outside the park entrance that is on the river still but out of the park jurisdiction and no official patrols occur from county agents. At least that was the case a few years ago. It could have been completely shut down by now depending on if people got rowdy and ruined it for the rest of us.
You do have to get here early on nice days and holiday weekends to get a parking spot and not have to walk a mile to get a good spot to enjoy. And as the rest of the reviewers have noted, the actual flaming geyser is not really very exciting, but it is an oddity of nature to say you have witnessed.

We just visited the Flaming Geyser State Park and really enjoyed ourselves. I wish there was more information regarding the Salmon swimming upstream though. The Flaming geyser itself was a little less impressive than it’s name, but knowing that there is methane down below; coal, and cinnabar — that’s quite impressive. I would LOVE to know more abt the salmon migration. We were literally three feet away from salmon swimming up the tributary. It was fascinating! The fish were everywhere — and knowing they were on their final journal was amazing. National Geographic in action! Lots of trails. Lots of picnic areas. The flyers (model airplanes) were out and having a grand time. Needs to be a bit more information — and maybe a little better maintained trails — but overall — we enjoyed our afternoon at Flaming Geyser and would go again.

I was a bit disappointed. I went there expecting a cool park with a flaming geyser. I know it can’t be helped because it is what it is, but the flaming geyser has a flame barely larger than a bic lighter coming out of what looks like a cement filled Folgers can. Not so impressive.
Then they had signs for some bubbling geysers up the trail a bit, coming up out of the water. I got there and the bubbles created were so small it looked more like an ant was swimming underwater and blowing air bubbles.
Then the main part of park itself, was wide and open, but could have used more facilities and such. it was also quite annoying that all the bathrooms in the park were closed and locked. The park was full of people, rangers were there maintaining, but bathrooms were all locked.
I’m sure there are better parks set up much better around the state.

One of my real life BFF’s was having a party at Flaming Geyser State Park. Seeing as she’s a real life BFF I wouldn’t miss it for the world regardless of how far in BFE land it was. Plus with a name like Flaming Geyser how could I not want to check this place out!!!
The park is really nice with lots of area to picnic and stuff. It has more than three miles of freshwater shoreline on the Green River, I saw no dead bodies I looked. The park’s also has a flaming «geysers» (see pictures) hence it’s name which was pretty cool to look at for 60 seconds. Apparently whitewater rafting and tubing are huge here though I did not partake in those activities, no one needs to see me wet trust me plus the water was ice cold.
It’s a nice park to spend the day at but be warned the Park Rangers are very watchful of what goes on here. If they see people drinking out of «red» cups they will come and check your group for beer. If you’re nice they will just ask you to dump it out in front of them, if you’re not so nice they will make you dump it out in front of them and give you a ticket, if you’re an ass to them they will make you dump them out, give you a ticket and make you leave the park immediately and not be allowed back in for the next 48 hours. We were very nice to the Park Ranger.
I will add parking is a pain it looks like there’s a lot but not really though the bathrooms aren’t too bad for a state park. So if you’re looking to check out a flaming geyser drive down to BFE and check out Flaming Geyser State Park.