Grandfather Mountain’s beloved firefly viewing event returns. How to get tickets
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- Grandfather Glows lottery entries accepted 12 a.m. May 22 to 11:59 p.m. May 28.
- Winners may buy up to six tickets at $50 adults, $40 children; members pay $25/$20.
- Flash photography is banned at events and red light flashlights will be provided.
Synchronous glowing fireflies are about to emerge on Grandfather Mountain to mate, and watching them has become so popular you have to enter a lottery for tickets. That lottery will open on Friday, May 22.
There are at least 10 confirmed species of fireflies on the mountain, some of which glow synchronously and can be seen all glowing all at once.
The dates for the three available Grandfather Glows viewing dates will be released on Thursday, May 21. The events will be in mid-June and mid-July.
Synchronous fireflies
Synchronous fireflies, or Photinus carolinus, were identified on Grandfather Mountain by NC State Entomologist Clyde Sorenson. He was visiting in 2019 when he first identified the fireflies, The News & Observer previously reported.
Sorenson said he realized that Grandfather Mountain sits at a higher elevation than Elkmont, Tennessee, where many synchronous fireflies have been identified, so spring would come to the mountain a little later. His guesswork paid off when he saw hundreds of synchronous fireflies.
He said the fireflies had been seen there before, nearly 80 years prior.
“It just tickled me no end, to walk around that corner into the dark, out of the light circle from the porch light, and see quite literally, hundreds and hundreds of synchronous fireflies flashing all together,” Sorenson said.
The fireflies thrive in hardwood forest environments, like Grandfather Mountain. Habitat destruction, pesticides and light pollution can pose a danger to fireflies. Extraneous evening light can prevent the fireflies from communicating and finding mates. With this in mind, flash photography is banned from the Grandfather Glows events. Red light flashlights will be provided.
How to get tickets
Lottery tickets will be available at grandfather.com/fireflies from 12 a.m. Friday, May 22 to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, May 28. You can make one entry per email address.
Lottery tickets are $5 plus tax. If you win, you can purchase up to six tickets, either on one night or spread across several. The tickets cost $50 for adults and $40 for children. If you are a member of the Grandfather Mountain annual pass Bridge Club, adult tickets are $25 and children’s tickets are $20. Children under 3 years old do not require a ticket.
Grandfather Glows has been well received since its introduction in 2022. Unlike other parks that offer synchronous firefly viewings, Grandfather Glows tickets are per individual, not car.
Where else can you see synchronous fireflies?
Synchronous fireflies can also be seen at Congaree National Park in South Carolina and Great Smoky Mountain National Park in Tennessee. (The lotteries for both national park firefly events have already happened.)
Sorenson also said that you can see the fireflies outside of parks.
“If you’re going to be spending some time in the mountains around Memorial Day, find yourself in some rich, moist woods near a creek and see if you can’t find your own population of synchronous fireflies to look at,” Sorenson said. “The other thing is I encourage folks to pay attention to all the really cool fireflies that already live around us. There are many other species, and some of them, even though they don’t synchronize, in the right habitat reach really high densities that make just as spectacular a show.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 10:18 AM with the headline "Grandfather Mountain’s beloved firefly viewing event returns. How to get tickets."
