The annual gathering of synchronous fireflies at Great Smoky Mountains National Park will go on without crowds this year, as park officials canceled the annual view event due to coronavirus/NPS file

Firefly events at Congaree National Park in South Carolina and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina have been canceled for this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

At Congaree, the 2020 Fireflies Festival was scheduled for May 11-24.

“It was only after careful consideration and out of concern for the health and safety of our visitors, employees, volunteers, and partners, that we made this difficult decision," said park Superintendent K. Lynn Berry. "The park team enjoys introducing visitors to this awesome natural phenomenon and we know that people love the fireflies, but safety is our No. 1 priority. There are still uncertainties about where South Carolina will be along the ‘curve’ in mid-May, but there is a need for continued vigilance.”  

Last year the park welcomed more than 12,000 visitors to the fireflies event, a number that would make adhering to social distancing guidelines impossible this year. The park also lost valuable planning time in March and April, which are the key preparation months for this massive effort. The park's ability to recruit and train more than 100 volunteers, collaborate with partners, and bring in additional staffing resources has been severely limited.  

It is also important to protect sensitive firefly habitat, which could easily be overwhelmed in the absence of a carefully structured event, including dedicated viewing areas, managed pedestrian flows, safety lighting and other measures. Considering this, Congaree staff has decided that park gates will be closed nightly during firefly season, regardless of the overall operational status of the park at that time.

At Great Smoky Mountains National Park, officials canceled the synchronous firefly viewing event in a continuing effort to support federal, state, and local efforts to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus and to adhere to the latest guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Every year in late May or early June, thousands of visitors from across the country gather near the Elkmont Campground to observe the naturally occurring phenomenon of Photinus carolinus, a firefly species that flashes synchronously. In 2019, 28,958 people from all 50 states and 19 countries entered the lottery for shuttle access to view the fireflies at Elkmont. Passes were distributed to people from 42 states, Canada, and the Federated States of Micronesia. An estimated 1,000 people view the fireflies each night, including participants from the lottery and campground users.

“The synchronous firefly viewing area at Elkmont simply isn’t spacious enough to safely allow hundreds of people to gather under the current health guidance,” said Superintendent Cassious Cash. “While disappointing, the safety of our employees, volunteers, and visitors continues to be our No. 1 priority.”

Park officials also noted that the shuttle service to the event would not support current CDC guidelines, particularly the six-foot distancing requirement between individuals. Due to on-site parking limitations, the shuttle service is the only transportation mode for visitor access during this period, except for registered campers staying at the Elkmont Campground.

At this time, Elkmont Campground remains closed. The National Park Service is working servicewide with federal, state, and local authorities to closely monitor the COVID-19 pandemic. Park managers will continue to evaluate regional conditions and work with local communities to assess dates for an orderly reopening of park facilities in a manner that provides for the health and safety of employees, volunteers, partners, residents, and visitors.