The Cataloochee Experience in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Cataloochee is a tucked-away destination and its special beauty offers an appeal to all interests and ages. Bring blankets or folding chairs and a picnic, and set up camp for a long afternoon along the large meadow of Cataloochee Valley to watch for the appearance of the elk herd.

Lace up those hiking boots and venture down some of the interesting trails located within the park boundaries.  Campers will be awed after sundown by the multitude of stars that are visible in the low light of this remote valley. Anglers are sure to enjoy searching out the perfect spot along a rushing creek to land an elusive trout. The equestrian set will appreciate the horse camp and the many trails available.

  • Fishing: Cataloochee Creek and all its tributaries feature an abundant wild trout population. A Tennessee or North Carolina fishing license is required within park boundaries and may be acquired at nearby communities or online from North Carolina at ncwildlife.org or in Tennessee at tn.wildlifelicense.com.
  • Camping: a 27-site primitive campground is located in the valley and is open mid-March through October for tents or RVs up to 31 feet. Group camping is available through advanced reservations. Back country camping requires  a permit. For more info, go to recreation.gov.
  • Horse Camp: reservations are required and maybe obtained by calling 877-444-677 or logging onto recreation.gov.
  • Hiking: One of the more popular trails in Cataloochee is the seven-mile loop Boogerman Trail that winds through towering old-growth forests. The Little Cataloochee Trail meanders down an old road that leads past several historical structures.

Getting There
The easiest way to reach Cataloochee is from Interstate 40. Take the North Carolina exit #20 (Maggie Valley) and turn right into Cove Creek Road.

Continue reading…

Cades Cove Car Ban Ends

Cades Cove car ban is under way.

With the tunnel reopening the car ban comes to an end .

Cades Cove Car Ban Ends. Cades Cove has been closed for visitors for two months but that ends when the Laurel Creek Road (a seven-mile main access road from the Townsend Wye to Cades Cove) reopens this weekend on March 1, 2020. Motorists, bikers and hikers have been shut out of the cove since repair work began January 5th on the 1948-era Bote Mountain Tunnel. Most of the work is complete, but some intermittent single lane closures are scheduled between March 1 and June 15 to finish repairs on the vintage tunnel and to re-pave.

Closure at Cades Cove Campground continues through March 5. However Elkmont and Smokemont Campgrounds are open to winter campers.

Cades Cove has a rich history. For hundreds of years the Cherokee hunted in the cove. Archeologist have found no evidence of major settlements, and so it appears that it was just that – a hunting ground.

Dan Lawson heirlooms return to the Smokies.

Dan Lawson homesite.

Continue reading…

Smoky Mountain Synchronous Firefly Event 2020

Smoky Mountain Synchronous Firefly Event 2020. It’s never to early to start making plans to see the Synchronous Fireflies (and the Blue Ghost Fireflies) that will light up the night sky in late May and early June 2020 in the Great Smoky Mountains. Firefly viewing in the Smokies has become such a popular event that there are now several venues available to enjoy the spectacular shows.

The Synchronous Firefly (Photinus carolinus) and the Blue Ghost Firefly (Phausis reticulata) are two species that are found only in the Southern Appalachian Mountains which include the Great Smokies. And during the short mating season in late May and early June, both firefly species put on quite a show to behold! The male Synchronous Firefliesflash their little green-yellow bioluminescent lanterns in unison for about 6-8 blinks and then they go dark for a few seconds creating a sublime wave of light throughout the forest. The male Blue Ghost Fireflies don’t flash their blue-white lanterns, instead they glow continuously just a few inches above the ground. The ethereal experience of either nighttime show should be on everyone’s bucket list!  National Park scientists mostly use air and soil temperatures to predict the timing of each year’s mating season.

Synchronous Fireflies with Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN
One of the most popular places to view the Synchronous Fireflies is in Elkmont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. This event has become so popular that a free lottery system was instituted for parking passes for the eight-day shuttle period to Elkmont. During this time of peak viewing, Elkmont is closed at nighttime with the exception of shuttle users and campers in Elkmont Campground. Dates for the 2020 Lottery and Elkmont Shuttle will be announced sometime in April 2020. HeySmokies will keep you updated, so be sure to check back with us. We’ll provide you all the details of what you need to know to register for the lottery. For more information in the meantime, visit Recreation.gov.

Synchronous Fireflies with Discover Life in America in Gatlinburg, TN

For a few nights during peak firefly viewing time, Discover Life in America hosts a fundraising event featuring nightly presentations and field walks at the Norton Creek Sanctuary near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Tickets for the event are $100 each and the event is geared toward persons ages 10 and older. For reservations for this exclusive event, call Discover Life in America at 865-430-4757 or email todd@dlia.org

Blue Ghost Fireflies in DuPont State Recreational Forest near Asheville, NC
DuPont State Forest is located in Cedar Mountain, NC about 30 miles outside of Asheville. Due to the popularity of this location in recent years, some of the trails in the High Falls parking area will be closed during peak viewing season. Because the female Blue Ghosts stay on the ground, many have been killed by visitors wandering off of the designated trails. For more information, visit DuPont State Forest.

Fireflies on the Blue Ridge Parkway
Overlooks along the Blue Ridge Parkway are a great place to view starry nights as well as the fireflies in June! Usually the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center in Asheville offers a family-friendly firefly viewing event. For more information, visit Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor Center.

Grandfather Mountain

It’s glow time as the discovery of Synchronous fireflies light up Grandfather Mountain. grandfather mountain is in Linville, North Carolina.

Grandfather Mountain’s staff and experts expressed glowing enthusiasm for the recent discovery of Photinus carolinus, the only species of firefly in North America whose individuals can synchronize their lighting display (or flash in unison).

It was a serendipitous discovery on Grandfather Mountain. Dr. Claude Sorenson, an entomologist from North Carolina State University, was hosting a workshop on the mountain and spending the night in the park’s guest cottage near the Woods Walk when he decided to find out what type fireflies might call this high altitude home. When he saw a few fireflies about 9:30 p.m. Sorenson knew these were no ordinary ones. “As it got dark, the numbers steadily went up and between 10 and 10:30 p.m., there were several hundred all around the guest cottage and Woods Walk, flashing synchronously,” Sorenson was quoted as saying. He confirmed his findings with East Tennessee naturalist Lyn Faust, an expert on the subject who has written a field guide on fireflies. Sorenson referred to Faust as “one of the best resources for anyone who is interested in learning more about these critters.”

Synchronous behavior is rare in fireflies. According to Sorenson, there are only a handful of this particular species around the world that do this, and for a long time, the amazing spectacle of large numbers synchronizing has been associated with a few geographical areas that range from New York to Georgia.

Sorenson’s recent discovery was at 4,200 feet compared to the fireflies in Elkmont, GSMNP at 2,200 feet.  Grandfather’s elevation range begins at 3,000 feet and peaks at nearly 6,000 feet. At the top, where temperatures are colder, the fireflies flashed in slower cadence, reported Amy Renfranz, Grandfather Mountains’ director of education, speaking of survey observations near the park’s Mile High Swinging Bridge. During one survey, Franz noted more than 1,000 fireflies from one overlook.

As a general rule, fireflies, at most locations, are active for about two to three weeks. Due to the great elevation span of Grandfather, the display could last longer, Franz said. The show could start at the bottom of the mountain in early June and continue well into July at increased elevations, providing a bonus for the scientific community as well as spectators.

Jesse Pope, president and executive director of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, a non-profit organization that owns and operates the park, was excited about the news and said the discovery goes hand-in-hand with Grandfather Mountain’s mission to inspire conservation of the natural world by helping guests explore, understand and value the wonders of Grandfather.  “That’s something that makes Grandfather Mountain so special, that a visitor could do the discovering,” Pope was quoted as saying.

The park staff is already preparing for next year’s light show, brought to you compliments of Mother Nature.

For more information on the fireflies or other interesting events on Grandfather Mountain, call 800-468-7325, or visit www.grandfather.com

Both firefly species are common in other areas of Southern Appalachia and just perhaps during the month of June, you stay outside until around 10:00 p.m. when it’s good and dark and you sit quietly, you may be surprised at the light show in your very own backyard!

Smoky Mountain Synchronous Firefly Dates Announced

Smoky Mountain Synchronous Firefly Dates Announced. Every year in late May or early June, thousands of visitors gather near the popular Elkmont Campground to observe the naturally occurring phenomenon of Photinus carolinus, a firefly species that flashes synchronously. Since 2006, access to the Elkmont area has been limited to shuttle service beginning at Sugarlands Visitor Center during the eight days of predicted peak activity in order to reduce traffic congestion and provide a safe viewing experience for visitors that minimizes disturbance to these unique fireflies during the critical two-week mating period.

The lottery will be open for applications from Friday, April 26 at 8:00 a.m. until Monday, April 29 at 8:00 p.m. Results of the lottery will be available on Friday, May 10. A total of 1,800 vehicle passes will be available for the event which includes: 1768 regular-parking passes (221 per day) which admit one passenger vehicle up to 19’ in length with a maximum of seven occupants, and 32 large-vehicle parking passes (four per day) which admit one large vehicle (RV, mini-bus, etc.) from 19’ to 30’ in length, with a maximum of 24 occupants. Lottery applicants must apply for either a regular-parking pass or large-vehicle parking pass and then may choose two possible dates to attend the event over the eight-day viewing period.

The lottery system uses a randomized computer drawing to select applications. All lottery applicants will be charged a $1.00 application fee. Successful applicants will automatically be awarded parking passes and a $24.00 reservation fee will be charged to the same credit or debit card used for the application fee. The parking pass permits visitors to park at Sugarlands Visitor Center and allows occupants to access the shuttle service to Elkmont. The $24.00 reservation fee covers the cost of awarding the passes, event supplies, one red-light flashlight per pass, and nightly personnel costs for managing the viewing opportunity at Sugarlands Visitor Center and Elkmont.

Parking passes are non-refundable, non-transferable, and good only for the date issued. There is a limit of one lottery application per household per season. All lottery applicants will be notified by e-mail by May 10 that they were “successful” and awarded a parking pass or “unsuccessful” and not able to secure a parking pass.

Continue reading…

Updated Great Smoky Mountain Synchronous Firefly Lottery Dates

Updated Great Smoky Mountain Synchronous Firefly Lottery Dates. The dates for the 2019 Synchronous Firefly shuttle operations calendar will be announced April 22, 2019. Evening access to the Sugarlands Visitor Center and Elkmont campground will be restricted to those possessing parking pass confirmation. Elkmont access will be limited to those utilizing the firefly shuttles and campers.

The parking passes will be awarded via lottery. The lottery opens Friday, April 26, 2019 at 8:00 a.m. and closes on Monday, April 29, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. The parking confirmation passes lottery can be participated in at Firefly lottery. Parking passes are only valid for a specific date. You will be allowed to enter your preferred date and one alternate date on your lottery application.

Continue reading…