The synchronizing firefly in the Southern Appalachian Smoky Mountains is a rare sight to see when it is flashing its mating signal - a yellowish green pulsing light that breaks the darkness of the night. Found and confirmed by scientists less than a dozen years ago, the lightning bugs special light show has amazed and delighted visitors and residents of the Smoky Mountains for years.
The most popular place people come to see a large gathering of the synchronized firefly flash its special light that sends waves of lights up and down mountains, trees and then will plunge into darkness, is the Elkmont section of the Great Smoky Mountains national park.
Conditions have to be right to support the rare lightning bug that will emerge from beneath the ground when the temperature is just right and in search of a mate will flash its amazing light. For safety's sake and transportation convenience, the 2nd week in June at Elkmont was the best place to bring visitors to see the light show.
While well coordinated, safe and a great place to see the Smokies fireflies do their thing, standing in line for a long wait to take a shuttle into the park, dealing with 1,000 other visitors that night on a small area and waiting in line to take a shuttle back to your car is not an ideal way to view the fireflies - especially with small kids.
What could be more fun that to come to the Smokies and see the special fireflies from your cabin without any hassles? Well it sounds easier than it actually is.
While you can find the synchronizing fireflies in many areas of the Southern Appalachians, it is hard to see them in large numbers in the developed areas where most cabins are. The best place to observe the fireflies are not in wooded areas, but more open places where they can see each other to stimulate the flashing, and you can see in turn see them as well.
Most cabin rentals are often fairly close to one another so light from one cabin can be seen by the cabin next door. This makes it harder to see the fireflies flashes and the ambient light discourages fireflies to flash on their own.
Last year, after much searching the perfect conditions for lightning bugs were found in a small area between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg Tennessee near large fields and a small stream, at the right elevation and way down a back road with very limited ambient light.
After watching the area for the optimum time, lighting bugs did synchronize and they do in fact inhabit this area and put on quite a show! The only problem is that there are only 3 cabins for rent where you could see the fireflies in that small area.
Well obviously 3 cabins is not enough to cover the demand to see such a spectacle in the Smoky Mountains so the search was on to find another area where the lightning bus synchronize and they can be seen from a cabin as well as within the property of a development.
After 4 years of searching for a great new place outside the Great Smoky Mountains national park that you can rent a cabin and get to see the special firefly show from the property, the best place was just found to see the rare lightning bugs!
Brothers Cove a premium private log cabin resort community tucked off Walden Creek in the Wears Valley area outside Pigeon Forge turned out to have all the right conditions: the correct elevation range, water sources, ground cover, great topography, lack of excessive ambient light and of course plenty of the Photinus Carolinus - the synchronizing firefly!
The past three weeks they have been observed in large numbers in the Brothers Cove Resort - home to more than 40 log cabins for rent! They have been found around many of the cabins located in this private gated community as well as up toward the top of the community in the large field / play area next to the in-ground swimming pool, the outdoor gazebo and the huge lodge.
An even greater concentration of the fireflies have been discovered in the lower field by the Brothers Cove Rental office - also on private property that the guests staying at Brothers Cove can use! They have been observed in the huge field, as well as in and up the treeline on the Brothers Cove Mountain.
If you are in this field at Brothers Cove and you look up a clear night, you can see actually see the Milky Way! And guess what? No crowds making noise or people bumping into you! At night all what you can hear are the whippoorwills, the crickets and frogs chirping and owls - what a private way to experience the most interesting natural phenomena in the Smokies!
So, what are the best places, ways and times to observe the Smoky Mountains synchronized fireflies in the Brothers Cove resort? Well the best place with the highest concentration of mating fireflies that light up in June will depend on when they emerged from the soil. Since the lower field is at 1,130 feet the field near the swimming pool is at 1,650 feet looking out over the valley and the top ridge of Brothers Cove is 1,950 feet and all 40 plus cabins for rent are located between the lower field and the top ridgeline, there can be an almost full weeks difference between firefly activity at the bottom of Brothers Cove verses the top.
Wherever you decide to watch the fireflies, you should bring along a flashlight with a red led or get a red lens cover or red cellophane so you can move around safely and still not throw off the light show or reduce your night vision. If you are going down to the lower field, you may want to bring folding chairs so you can sit. There are chairs at all the cabins and plenty of seating around the pool area.
If you staying at the cabin to watch the fireflies, turn off all the lights so it is as dark as possible. Pick a spot to sit with the widest panorama and if you can away from other cabins that have lights on. Do not forget to look up at the beautiful stars!
There are some many weather and other natural conditions that will dictate when the light show will reach peak and how many fireflies will be out that year. The one thing you can count on is that they will be there during the month of June and the best time to see them is at least half hour after sunset and the show is over by around midnight. Best all round time is should be the 2nd and 3rd week of June from 10 pm - 11 pm.
Just spending time in the peace and quiet of Brothers Cove is an amazing experience, but to be able to enjoy one of the Smoky Mountains most impressive natural treasures in privacy and without crowds.
Brothers Cove is an amazing custom built private neighborhood of luxury cabins on more than 400 acres much of which is unspoiled forest. Each cabin is unique and every cabin has a spectacular view of the mountains or a secluded wooded view or both! More than half of the almost 80 cabins that have been built in this private resort are for rent through BrothersCove.com.
Only guests of cabins rented through Brothers Cove or American Mountain Rentals who owns BrothersCove.com are entitled to all of the amenities maintenance, housekeeping and services offered at the on site office in Brothers Cove.
Only registered owners, renters or their guests are allowed in Brothers Cove for firefly viewing as well as entering Brothers Cove property including the fields and natural areas, roads, swimming pool and gazebo.
So what are you waiting for? Start looking for the cabin you want so that you can see the fireflies in peace and privacy! Rent a Brothers Cove cabin now before the one you want is gone!
Related Smokies Blog Stories:
Rare Synchronizing Fireflies Find Confirmed In Brothers Cove Resort in Wears Valley.
Fireflies synchronized light show season starts in Great Smoky Mountains national park.
Synchronous fireflies and admirers about to invade the Great Smoky Mountains national park
Cabins for rent where you can see the synchronized fireflies in the Smoky Mountains
Smoky Mountains firefly show in Elkmont near Gatlinburg
Elkmont Section of national park yearly visit by synchronized fireflies
Labels: Brothers Cove, cabin for rent, Elkmont, fireflies, Great Smoky Mountains., lightning bug, National Park, peak, resort, smokies, synchronize, Synchronizing, Wears Valley
