Hike of the Week: Flaming Geyser

A hiker admires a remnant old growth cedar

Flaming Geyser

Once a hot attraction is now an old flame





by Craig Romano
photo by Craig Romano
produced by Michael Fagin

February 10, 2006

Quick Facts
Location: Flaming Geyser State Park, Green River Valley
Land Agency: Washington State Parks
Roundtrip: 4.0 miles of interlacing trail
Elevation gain: 200 feet
Access: From Renton, take the Valley Freeway (SR 167) south to SR 18 in Auburn. Head east and take the Green Valley Road exit. Follow this road for seven miles to the state park entrance.
Special Note: Dogs must be on a leash. Washington State Park Pass Required.


Long before Seattle busted from its seams, leaving a path of sprawling suburbs throughout King County, the city of Auburn was a small frontier town. Settlers arrived; giving rise to scores of saw mills fueled by abundant tall timber. The railroads soon followed and a small hub developed in south King County.
Now denuded of fir and cedar, the fertile Green River Valley supported thriving farms, providing produce for the now booming cities of Seattle and Tacoma. Farther east, mining towns sprouted, extracting coal for those same growing metropolises.
After WW II, the coal reserves of eastern King County were depleted. Highways replaced railroads, and urban sprawl consumed the farms. By the late 20th Century, the once small town of Auburn had been engulfed in condos, strip developments, malls and tract housing. However, over 500 acres of lands now known as Flaming Geyser State Park escaped this fate. And ironically, these lands are wilder now than they were 50 years ago.
Early in the 20th Century, most of the land that now composes Flaming Geyser State Park was exploited for its coal deposits. One test pit in particular, produced a stream of methane accompanied by salty water. When the methane was lit, it blew a flame 25 feet into the air, and hence was named Flaming Geyser.
As coal extraction diminished, much of the area around the Flaming Geyser became a private resort. City folk would come up to the rural Green River valley for Sunday picnics, games on the lawns, or extended walks along the river. In the 1960s the area was turned over to the state of Washington to become a state park. The lawns were kept, but many of the buildings did not remain. The forests began to reclaim the land and Flaming Geyser State Park developed into a natural reserve as well as an urban retreat.
The geyser itself succumbed to the changes of time and now if it burns at all it’s merely a few inches high. But it’s not the geyser that makes this place worth visiting. It’s the 500-acres of surrounding land that has withstood the urbanization of the Puget Basin.
The State Parks Department has developed over four miles of trails leading throughout the park's natural communities. Paths head through second-growth forest where you’ll occasionally be surprised by a surviving ancient giant. Trails also lead through meadows and along the Green River itself providing a passage into its famed Gorge. When water levels are low, you can hike for some distance along the riverbank up the gorge.
Paths lead to the former coal test pits, too. One, the Bubbling Geyser, is a gurgling little pool under a dense canopy of forest greenery. And the Flaming Geyser is accessible too, but it will be your nose that notices it now, not your eyes. It’s no longer a burning attraction; but the forest and park lands surrounding it are a hot attraction.