Chestnut Ridge & the Eternal Flame — A Fire Behind the Falls

Half an hour south of Buffalo, in the wooded hills above Orchard Park, hides one of the strangest and most beloved natural wonders in western New York: a small waterfall with a flame burning permanently behind it. Fed by a slow seep of natural gas from the shale beneath, the Eternal Flame Falls flickers in a rocky grotto at the base of a cascade — a genuinely magical sight worth the short, muddy scramble to reach it. The day pairs that oddity with the wide-open pleasures of Chestnut Ridge Park itself: sweeping escarpment overlooks north toward the Buffalo skyline and Lake Erie, rolling meadows, and a network of forest trails. It is an easy, family-friendly outing with a real payoff at its heart. Wear waterproof boots — the trail to the flame crosses a creek bed and gets slick, and the flame occasionally goes out and needs relighting.