Eternal Flame Falls
New York · 30-foot drop · Last verified 2026-05-15
Flow at Eternal Flame Falls is light today (10 cfs) — visit for the geology, not the volume. July averages 5.9" of precipitation here — expect high flow.
Right now
Streamflow
10 cfs
EIGHTEENMILE CREEK AT HAMBURG · 49m ago
Overnight
66°F
Chance Rain Showers
Friday
79°F
Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
Today's daylight
Sunrise 5:46 AM · Sunset 8:54 PM · 15h 8m
Snapshot built 11m ago. Sources: USGS · NWS BUF.
Eternal Flame Falls is a waterfall in New York. It drops roughly 30 feet. Access details and conditions have not yet been verified in person by Fallspots — the data on this page comes from OpenStreetMap and USGS GNIS.
Eternal Flame Falls is in New York. It drops along The Eternal Flame Falls is a small waterfall located in the Shale Creek. The base sits at roughly 1,200 feet of elevation. Drive time is about 3 minutes from North Boston. A trail — Eternal Flame Trail — runs within 0 meters of the marked location. This is one of the more frequently visited falls in the state by our popularity model. Source records come from OpenStreetMap.
The Eternal Flame Falls is a small waterfall located in the Shale Creek Preserve, a section of Chestnut Ridge Park in Western New York. A small grotto at the waterfall's base emits natural gas, which can be lit to produce a small flame. This flame is visible nearly year round, although it can be extinguished and must occasionally be re-lit.
Is the water flowing right now?
Most waterfall sites don't tell you this. The waterfall itself is almost never gauged, but a USGS streamgage in the same watershed can tell you whether snowmelt has started, peaked, or run dry.
USGS gage 0421422210 · 5 mi away
EIGHTEENMILE CREEK AT HAMBURG NY
View live discharge data →
30-day streamflow
Below 30-day average↻ Same date last year: 9.3 cfs · 137% of last year — significantly wetter
When to go (from the climate data, not our opinion)
Monthly averages from Open-Meteo's reanalysis dataset (2020–2024). Highlighted months are when we think the waterfall is at its best — but the numbers are the numbers regardless.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip (in) | Snow days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 20 | 4.7 | 21.4 |
| Feb | 36 | 20 | 3.7 | 17.4 |
| Mar | 46 | 29 | 3.8 | 12.2 |
| Apr | 55 | 37 | 5 | 8.4 |
| May | 67 | 48 | 3.6 | 1.4 |
| Jun | 75 | 58 | 4.1 | 0 |
| Jul | 78 | 63 | 5.9 | 0 |
| Aug | 77 | 62 | 5.3 | 0 |
| Sep | 71 | 56 | 3.4 | 0 |
| Oct | 60 | 46 | 4.6 | 1.4 |
| Nov | 48 | 35 | 4.8 | 9.4 |
| Dec | 39 | 28 | 4.9 | 17.2 |
Source: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API · ERA5 reanalysis 2020–2024.
Compare to nearby falls
If this one isn't the right fit, here's how it stacks up against the closest documented falls. Every column is filterable on the site — not buried in 13,000 reviews.
| Waterfall | Distance | Height | Trail | Dogs | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eternal Flame Falls (this page) | — | 30 ft | — | — | — |
| Mattulke Falls | 6 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Cromer's Mill | 7 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Johnson Falls | 15 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Angel Falls | 16 mi | — | — | — | — |
| Glen Falls | 18 mi | 30 ft | — | — | — |
Side-by-side comparisons
Eternal Flame Falls compared head-to-head with other documented falls — height, access, fees, dogs, swimmability in one row each.
Related waterfalls
Similar height (~30 ft)
- Champagne Falls30 ft
- Crevice Falls30 ft
- Cucumber Falls30 ft
- Georgiana Falls30 ft
- Glen Falls30 ft
Questions visitors ask about Eternal Flame Falls
Answers built from our structured data. If a question isn't here, the fact is unverified — we'd rather omit than guess.
How tall is Eternal Flame Falls?
Eternal Flame Falls is 30 feet (9.1 m) tall. Source heights disagree by source — see the discrepancy box on the page.
How far is Eternal Flame Falls from a major city?
Eternal Flame Falls is 2 miles from North Boston (about 3 minutes' drive).
More waterfalls in New York
Where it is
42.7018, -78.7518
Sources and live status
Where we got the data, and where to check current conditions before you drive.
Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eternal_Flame_Falls
Wikidata (Q5402647)
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5402647
Last verified by Fallspots: 2026-05-15
Been there?
Marina and Theo verify pages one road trip at a time. If you've been to Eternal Flame Falls recently, your local knowledge improves the page for everyone. Pick the kind of contribution that fits — every email lands in our inbox and gets read (and credited when we publish).
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