Synchronous Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains June 2016

fireflies-great-smoky-mountains-heysmokies

Synchronous fireflies light up the night sky each year in early June in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. (Photo credit: Katrien Vermeire)

Synchronous Fireflies in Great Smoky Mountains June 2016

These aren’t your average backyard lightening bugs; these particular bioluminescent beetles (Photinus carolinus) perform an extraordinarily silent symphony of lights in the warm, dark forest evoking images of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. It’s truly a sublime experience.

They’ll be here for a week or two in early June 2016. However, the event has become so popular, bringing over 12,000 visitors to Elkmont, that some advance planning is definitely required. Utilizing scientific data on daily temperatures, park scientists have announced that peak viewing time will be May 31 to June 7, 2016. Here are a few tips to help with your planning:

  • You can camp at Elkmont and have direct access to the trails where you can view the nightly light show. Campground reservations can be made up to six months in advance at www.recreation.gov. If you want to backpack, backcountry reservations are required and can be made at nps.gov up to 30 days in advance.
  • Non-campers have limited to no access to the Elkmont area during the 8-day viewing period; however, nightly trolley Shuttles from Sugarlands Visitor Center are available with a Parking Pass via a new lottery system to award the much sought-after passes.
  • The Shuttle Operating Dates will be from May 31 to June 7, 2016. The new lottery system will be open for applications from 12:00 noon on April 29 until 8:00 p.m. on May 2, 2016.  All entries, regardless of the time of application, will be submitted for the lottery drawing. Results for the lottery drawing will be available on May 10.
  • Visit www.recreation.gov during the specified time period to enter the Lottery. Parking passes may also be obtained by calling 877-444-6777, but National Park officials highly encourage the use of the online process.
  • Lottery applicants must apply for either a regular vehicle parking pass or a large vehicle parking pass. Regular vehicles are passenger vehicles up to 19 ft. in length with a maximum of 6 occupants. Large vehicles are RVs and mini-buses from 19-30 ft. in length with a maximum of 24 occupants.
  • Lottery applicants must choose two possible dates to attend the event over the 8-day viewing period.
  • There is no fee to enter the lottery this year. If selected the lottery winner will be charged a $1.50 reservation fee and awarded a parking pass. Parking passes are non-refundable, non-transferable, and good only for the date issued. There is a limit of one lottery application per household. All lottery applicants will be notified by e-mail on May 10. Arrival times to the Sugarlands Parking Lot will be assigned will be assigned to relieve traffic congestion.
  • Remember to bring a chair or blanket, rain gear, and a flashlight because it’ll be dark. Keep your flashlight covered with either blue or red cellophane, usually available at the check-in table. Visitors are not allowed to walk the Elkmont entrance road due to safety concerns. For up-to-date info from the National Park Service, please visit GSMNP Firefly Event.

Continue reading…

National Junior Ranger Day in Great Smoky Mountains National Park on April 25

junior-ranger-heysmokies

Junior Rangers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park celebrates National Junior Ranger Day on Saturday, April 25, 2015 from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at Cades Cove Visitor Center, Oconaluftee Visitor Center and Sugarlands Visitor Center.

This free event for kids and families includes special activities like ranger-guided walks, old-fashioned toy making, fun stuff at the blacksmith’s shop, and more! Learn all about the Park’s wildlife with hands-on activities with animal skins, bones and even scat!

Children ages 5-12 can become a Great Smoky Mountains National Park Junior Ranger. Simply pick up a Junior Ranger booklet for $2.50 at any of the Park’s Visitor Centers or Cades Cove and Elkmont campgrounds. Complete all the activities in the booklet, stop by a Visitor Center and talk to a Ranger to receive your very own Junior Ranger badge!

Be sure to take advantage of the fun and informative Ranger-led programs offered by the National Park Service this season. Click here for a complete schedule of programs.

find-your-park-heysmokiesIn related news, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park recently launched Find Your Park, a public awareness and education campaign to set the stage for the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016. Find Your Park encourages the public to get out and really experience  our national parks so that they are not only seen as a destination, but a state of mind, a special feeling to bring about a sense of American pride in our nation’s exquisite natural and cultural gems of the National Park system.

Find Your Park is also the theme for this year’s National Park Week, April 18 – 26.

“National Park Week is a time for visitors, of all ages, to get out and experience their national parks, especially the Great Smoky Mountains,” says Superintendent Cassius Cash, “I hope during National Park Week and over the next year as we celebrate the National Park Service’s second century, everyone will take the opportunity to Find Your Park.”