Perfect Location to See the Special Smokies Fireflies and Help a Great Cause at the Same Time!

Every spring the hottest ticket in the Great Smoky Mountains is to get the trolley passes to see the synchronous firefly event in the Elkmont area of the National Park. This tickets area hard to come by since they are limited and sellout quickly.

If you do take the trolley to the event, you get to wait on lines before you go, deal with about 1,000 people a night milling around on the Little River Hiking Trail, and then wait even longer on line to take the shuttle bus back to the Sugarlands Parking are where you left your car.

How would you like to enjoy this amazing natural display of synchronized bioluminescence in a place with ample parking, no crowds, and access to a true firefly expert after enjoying some heavy hors d'oeuvres and drinks in the exclusive Norton Creek Sanctuary which borders the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP)?

What we feel is the most important nonprofit doing research in our national park and beyond: Discover Life in America will be hosting this fundraising event and there are a few spots left for the nights of June 5th or 7th!

Your purchase of tickets being sold to the Discover Life in America Synchronous Firefly fundraising event at $100 each help support groundbreaking discoveries made in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park where this organization help find 8,095 new species that reside in the GSMNP and 951 new species to science!

You are not helping what we feel is the most important biological study to take place in the national park, you are sure to have the best Smoky Mountains synchronized firefly experience possible!

For reservations or more information, e-mail Todd Witcher at todd@dlia.org or call (865)430-4757.

Synchronized Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains

• 2015 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• 2014 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• Where and When to see Synchronous Fireflies in the Smokies in 2013
• Synchronous Fireflies Emerge Too Early for Visitors In The Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Synchronous fireflies and their admirers are about to invade the Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Great Smoky Mountains National park synchronous firefly
• Great Smoky Mountains Fireflies has 900 visitors first night
• Synchronized Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains national parks Elkmont a huge disappointment

Synchronous Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains in June 2015

One of the most anticipated events that takes place in the Great Smoky Mountains national park is when the Synchronous Fireflies also known as lightning bugs, emerge from underground and converge in huge numbers appearing to synchronize their flashes with one another for mating purposes.

This event has become so popular that the National park service had to arrange to have shuttle buses (actually trolleys) for parking and safety reasons bring visitors to where they can be seen best and crowds would be the safest - Elkmont Tennessee.

This year the 2015 firefly event will take place from June 2nd 2015 to June 9th and the firefly event tickets will start going on sale April 30th 2015 for $1 per person and parking passes will be $1.50 per vehicle.

For more information about the fireflies in the Smokies, reservations and how to obtain a permit in order to film the firefly event, visit this Fireflies in the Smokies page.

Synchronized Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains

• 2015 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• 2014 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• Where and When to see Synchronous Fireflies in the Smokies in 2013
• Synchronous Fireflies Emerge Too Early for Visitors In The Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Synchronous fireflies and their admirers are about to invade the Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Great Smoky Mountains National park synchronous firefly
• Great Smoky Mountains Fireflies has 900 visitors first night
• Synchronized Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains national parks Elkmont a huge disappointment

Synchronized Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains national park in Elkmont - a huge disappointment.

Going to see the fireflies in the Elkmont area of the Great Smoky Mountains national park along with more than 1,050 other people waiting to watch the lighting bugs in the woods and fields all flash at the same time was a huge disappointment.

The shuttle service where you ride in a trolley for $1 round trip that picks you up in the Sugarlands visitor center parking lot starting at 6:00 pm and takes you right to the area in Elkmont where the firefly beetles perform nature's finest light show ran smoothly.

The area in Elkmont along the Little River in the GSMNP where the lightning bugs flash their lights to attract mates is one of the nicest areas of the park - large trees, heavy growth, huge moss covered boulders and a roaring river with many little waterfalls and pools as the river meanders along the hiking path.

The people who came to watch the fireflies - even the kids - were all courteous and well behaved and everyone seemed to be having a great time sitting in folding chairs, hiking on the trail, picnicking and playing with their kids.

When the firefly bugs really starting kicking in their light show at around 9:30 pm even people who saw it before were dazzled by the display of synchronized lights, random flashes and short periods of darkness.

Here is the huge disappointment: digital pictures and movies can not capture this awesome display! I tried everything and second time I came to see the fireflies I just tried to find the words to describe the beauty of the firefly show and it just can't be done! What a huge disappointment.

Besides this major disappointment I had to suffer, I had a great time both nights and will be sure to come out again this season to see the synchronized firefly beetles in Elkmont.

Related Smokies News Stories

Synchronized Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains

• 2015 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• 2014 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• Where and When to see Synchronous Fireflies in the Smokies in 2013
• Synchronous Fireflies Emerge Too Early for Visitors In The Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Synchronous fireflies and their admirers are about to invade the Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Great Smoky Mountains National park synchronous firefly
• Great Smoky Mountains Fireflies has 900 visitors first night
• Synchronized Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains national parks Elkmont a huge disappointment

Great Smoky Mountains Fireflies a big hit drawing more than 900 visitors the first night alone!

Visitors came in droves to the Sugarlands Visitor Center near Gatlinburg Tennessee in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park shuttle to Elkmont to observe the synchronized fireflies.
More than 900 people showed up the first night of the 2 week lightning bug show and even more are expected to show up next weekend when the mating season for the firefly beetles is in full swing.
Even though the weather will be shaky for the remainder of the week we suggest that you come during a weeknight if possible to avoid the crowds who come to watch the synchronized fireflies that perform the best in the Elkmont section of the GSMNP.
Shuttles start leaving to Elkmont from the Sugarlands visitor center at 6:00 pm. The Elkmont section of the park closes to all traffic other than shuttles at 5:00 pm. You can read more about the synchronized fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
A side note: even though the park service has advised us to ask visitors to bring red cellophane to cover flashlights, red cellophane was provided for those who did not have their own.
By using red cellophane on flashlights people who are around you can maintain better night vision and the lights that are red are less disturbing to the lightning bugs as white lights which can keep the fireflies from flashing to their prospective mates.

Related Smokies Fireflies News Stories

Synchronized Fireflies in the Great Smoky Mountains

• 2015 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• 2014 Firefly Viewing Dates in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.
• Where and When to see Synchronous Fireflies in the Smokies in 2013
• Synchronous Fireflies Emerge Too Early for Visitors In The Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Synchronous fireflies and their admirers are about to invade the Great Smoky Mountains national park
• Great Smoky Mountains National park synchronous firefly
• Great Smoky Mountains Fireflies has 900 visitors first night
• Synchronized Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains national parks Elkmont a huge disappointment