Where the Lightning Bugs Synchronize
For two weeks out of the year, lightning bugs in the Smoky Mountains transform from random twinkling lights to a single, pulsing illumination. The collective lighting from the tiny bugs shines on the mountainside forest in an enchanting bioluminescence.
These fireflies that synchronize their lights have become a natural phenomenon attraction, and people drive from all over to visit the park and witness the coordinated flashing. In 2018, on any given night during the two-week lightning bug synchronization window, nearly a thousand people filled the park, and silently observed the lighting of the mountains to the rhythm of the fireflies’ cadence.
Lightning Bugs in the Smoky Mountains Will Flash Their Lights in Unison Once A Year at These Campgrounds
Because the lightning bugs in the Smoky Mountains have become somewhat of a celebrity, park officials have had to implement a lottery system to determine who gets in the official viewing areas to avoid overcrowding. However, there’s more than one place to view the fireflies.
