Fly Geyser
Fly Ranch geyser (aka fly geyser) is by far one of the coolest and most unique natural structures i have ever seen. i discovered this spot a few years ago, but didn’t think i would be able to visit because it was closed to the public. HOWEVER, in 2018 they OFFICIALLY opened it fOr public tours! it was 100% worth the price tag, and i plan on going back in 5 To 10 years because the geysers are growing and will be way bigger.
MY TRIP IN A NUTSHELL:
MONTH. mid NOVEMBER.
TIME OF DAY. 12:00pm - 3:00pm
PERMIT REQUIRED. yes, see below.
DOGS ALLOWED. no.
Bathrooms. Yes!
ADDRESS. CLICK HERE (this is the inital meet-up location)
PARKING. Parking isn’t a problem since they only allow people with reservations on the property.
POPULARITY. this is a fairly undiscovered location and iS only open to a certain amount of people per day, so it’s not crowed.
WHERE/HOW TO PURCHASE a ticket:
Clich here > select your dates > follow the prompts AND PURCHASE YOUR ticket for the fly geyser nature walk.
FYI- tours are only Held on friday, saturday, and sundays. dates are opened every few months, without much warning. be sure to sign up for their newsletters in order to get tour updates. Try to book your tickets as early as possible, there are only about ~15 spots allowed per date!
Another way to visit fly geyser is by volunteering. if you choose to volunteer, you’ll Undergo an onsite training, host the guided tours, and have more flexibility about visiting the geyser & hot springs.
TRAIL & PARKING INFORMATION
FOR fly ranch gesyer IN gerlach, nv
this isn’t a typical hike like prior posts, this is a grade-a certified nature walk. that means you need to show up at a certain time and explore the property in a group. upon arrival, you’ll be greeted by 1-2 tour guides and a small group of people who will also join you on your walk. the tour guides will give you a tour of the property and provide some fun facts about burning man, the geyser, and the property’s history. the entire tour is 3 hours exactly, with the walk being about 1.5 miles (if that). make sure to bring comfortable shoes and warm clothes depending on the time of year.
the nature walk is broken down into 2 parts, the first being a tour of some amazing artwork On the property. if you are into nature, burning man, and nat geo-like content then this will be your jam. it was a super interesting and calming walk through the property which had wild horses, cows, a couple badass hot springs, and huge interactive artwork. sadly, photos are PROHIBITED for the first part of the walk. the idea behind this is that burning man is all about being present and enjoying life in the moment, not being glued to our phones and cameras. it really forces you to be mindful about the experience. I was INITIALLY bummed about this, but i understood the reasoning. so just take my word for it, the property has some really cool art and hot springs, which are almosssstt as epic as the geyser.
the second part of the nature walk includes a tour of the hot springs and two geysers (yes, there’s two!). photos were only allowed During the tour of the geYsers, not the hot springs. this sucks because the main hot spring was the best hot spring i’d ever seen. they don’t allow anyone to swim in the hot spring, aside from volunteers and employees, but this helps keep the land protected and intact, which i’m all about.
ps. this gesyer is extremely close to the black rock desert, which is where burning man is held. Hence the strong art component.
My Trip!
the fly geyser nature walk was such a unique, unexpected, fun, and informative tour. i cannot recommend it enough. honestly, i just signed up for the nature walk in order to see the geyser and was dreading the first two hours of the tour, but i was soooo pleasantly surprised with how relaxing yet fun the first part was. Also, the tour was extremely small with only 6 other people joining us. everyone wore masks and adhered to social distancing standards. Again, i wish i had photos of all the artwork but the secrecy is something to be respected and cherished. so hopefully you can find out for yourself what i’m talking about!
anywho, i was really fortunate to bring along joss and yuekai on this natUre walk. they had no idea what they were getting into but ended up having a blast. Also, The very second i was given permission to take photos, best believe i started snapping away. Here’s some pictures walking up to the geyser and a nearby pond:
Joss was so excited she started jumping for joy:
here’s the main geyser, which emerged from a human-made accident in the early 1900’s. it’s a geothermal geyser that contains thermophilic algae, resulting in multiple hues of green and red:
after we exhausted the photo ops, we headed about 100 yards down to the second geyser that began spouting naturally only two years ago!!! also check out the frost that yuekai found on OuR walk over:
it reminds me of a little volcano. but apparently it has been growing at a faster rate than the main geyser and may eventually surpass the main geyser in size! cant wait to see how big it’ll be in several years.
And lastly, i leave you with a picture of joss who looks exactly like the creepy guy from the netflix show, the haunting of bly manor:
overall, this was a very humbling nature walk. we were extremely lucky to enjoy this special land and see what it has to offer.
I hope you’re able to check it out. let me know if you have any questions!
enjoy!