Like most of you, I have seen pictures of Fly Geyser all over the internet for years. It is advertised as a man-made geyser everywhere which made me always wonder why someone would create a fountain in the middle of the desert, why not someplace near a city. I honestly thought for a long time that the structure and colors and everything were all man-made. Hence, I had little interest in seeing this human creation until 2018, when I came across one article where I read about an interesting story about its inception. And that piece of information just blew me away. So the only “Man-Made” part in this entire thing was the hole that was just accidentally dug into the earth, the rest of everything is mother nature. I went back, saw those pictures all over again, and just thought how beautiful it is, as impressive as Yellowstone but “not famous.” This made me want to visit this place and fortunately got an opportunity to see it in September of 2018.

What is Fly Geyser?

Fly Geyser is a geothermal geyser that continually releases water, reaching five feet in the air. It was accidentally created while drilling for water on the ranch. In the early 1900s, the ranchers tried to drill a well, which resulted in a geyser, the ‘original geyser.’ It became inactive in 1964, and they tried to dig another one just a couple of hundred feet from the ‘original geyser.’ This one became Fly Geyser. So there are two geysers on the property, you can still see the dried out ‘original geyser’ on the ranch. The ranch is also home to dozens of naturally occurring hot springs.

Each time geyser goes off, it deposits minerals in the surrounding areas. Continuous spraying of water for the last 50 years has resulted in such a beautiful fountain that we see today. It is continuously changing and growing. Different colors that we see are from various minerals, like the red from Iron, Yellow from Sulphur, green is from living algae.

In 2016, the Burning Man Project bought the Fly Ranch, and just recently, in decades, they have opened this beautiful place to the public.

Tickets & Tour

In April 2018, for the first time, Fly geyser was opened to public visits. You can find tickets for the guided walk here.
They suggest a donation of a minimum of $40 per person.

Meet the group at Friends of Black Rock High Rock Visitor Centre. Please reach 10 to 15 mins before the tour starts since you need to fill out some forms. And then from there, you do carpool to the fly ranch, which is around 20 miles, 25 mins drive from the visitor center.

The tour usually lasts 3 hours. Currently, they are running trips only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. They have one or two time slots every day, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. [Update 2022: They are only running one-time slot, 10:30 to 2:00 pm].
Since very few people know about this place, getting a spot on tour is easy. You make a little walking trip around the ranch, can see a few hot springs before ending the tour at the Fly Geyser. They give you around 45 mins to take pictures and explore the area on your own.

How to get there

It’s just a few miles away from the Burning Man site near the Black Rock Desert. It takes 2 hrs to drive from Reno.

Where to sleep

Gerlach is a very small town with limited facilities. It has a gas station, a restaurant and a motel. The best place to spend overnight would be Reno, which is easily accessible and just 2 hrs away from Gerlach. The other option is to camp in the Black Rock Desert or nearby public lands. You can find some camping spots here.

Travel Tips

• Go on a sunny day. The colors of the mineral deposits look best when there is sun. I strongly suggest checking out the weather forecast before booking a spot.
  
  
• Dogs and pets are not allowed on the Fly Ranch Nature Walks.
  
  
• There is no open access to Fly Ranch. Do not trespass; it is on private property.