The Flame Directions

   Aug. 30, 2023. Edited to Add: as of last night I learned the flame has been capped off.  It is no more.  Word is that the TWRA is considering closing off all access to Royal Blue west side completely. Folks are saying " oh, they can't do that."  Wrong. They can. They have on the Water Trail. It is accessible now ONLY to hunters. Over use, extreme high impact in areas such as Widow Maker and Dragons Back, littering, extremely high numbers of riders are the primary causes. It is coming. Folks have tried to warn yall. Some folks ain't got no kinda sense.

I am posting directions how to reach The Flame which is a methane gas well that stays lit most of the time.  Using these directions and venturing near gas wells and traveling in wild places carries inherent risks associated with it.  I am not responsible for your accidents, injuries or misadventures.  This is a well known feature among the local riding community anyhow, but out of towners might not know how to reach it. 

Waypoint for The flame 36.32567 -84.33542

Map of the Area below with the orange tear drop at The Flame

Directions from the Shortest Route:

Go to the Antioch Baptist Church located at 192 Norma Rd

Huntsville, TN 37756

if you have a side by side and are a rider this will be easy.

If you are unfamiliar with the area, unfamiliar with riding, on foot, or in a regular passenger vehicle it will be hard to impossible. These routes and directions are intended for riders only.

   The route is not designed for foot traffic, passenger cars and involves water crossings of Montgomery Fork which can be dangerous in high water. 

Head northeast away from the Antioch Baptist Church parking lot on Norma Road.

for 500 ft to a LEFT turn onto Montgomery Road.   This is where the road conditions begin to deteriorate to a four wheel drive trail.  Stay on Montgomery Road for 2 miles. (You will pass a left turn for Dean Road at 0.40 miles, but do not take it)  At 2miles you will pass a large wildlife pond on your right.   A hundred feet past it you will turn RIGHT into the gravel and dirt area where the Flame sits.

It is a methane well that is usually lit.   It has stones piled up around it. 

Below is a photo of the flame.

   

   If you arrive and find it extinguished use care to re-light it.   We have never found it out, but it had to be relit recently after a heavy rain.  It is an uncapped methane well spewing an unregulated amount of gas into the atmosphere.  

  I will try to post some additional  directions from Turley, but I am not real clear on that right now and don't want to get anyone lost.  The map I am using does not line up with reality and show the trails correctly. This makes it impossible for me to give accurate distances.