Nature’s Christmas lights: Congaree National Park firefly event returns

Congaree National Park is bringing back its synchronous firefly event for six days in May.

South Carolina’s only national park has hosted the wildly popular annual event highlighting the simultaneous flashing of the fireflies since 2017. Attendees get to see the unique phenomenon as the special species of beetles perform a mating ritual.

Folks at the park knew about the fireflies’ actions for some time but did not start an event until they decided the fireflies would be more sustainable if they let the public in on the experience, according to Chief of Visitor Services Jon Manchester.

“We were hearing that it was starting to get really crowded, people kind of trampling around off the trails, which could cause problems for the fireflies in general,” Manchester said. “So we started doing an organized event, because we wanted to make sure that this became something that people could still come see, and not go away because of people not respecting the resource there.”

Passes are required to attend the park during the May 14-21 event and will be awarded through a lottery system. The lottery is run through recreation.gov. It costs $1 to enter the lottery.

The lottery opens at 10 a.m. April 3 and will run until 10 a.m. April 9. Passes are limited to one entry per household; 145 passes will be awarded per night. 

The synchronous firefly event is popular every year for good reason. Manchester has personally witnessed the flashing light of the fireflies multiple times in his 12 years at the park and is still in awe of them. 

“It kind of looks like Christmas lights all throughout the forest,” Manchester said. “You’ll see just all these fireflies blinking in unison across a fairly wide area, and it just strikes you as, ‘Wow.’ It’s quite an experience. It never loses its magic, even 12 years later.”

The event was inspired by a similar one in the Great Smoky Mountains. The Smoky fireflies helped Congaree Park discern what the actions of their fireflies were. 

“We realized, yeah, this is synchronization,” Manchester said. “Once we kind of recognized how popular the Smoky’s event had gotten, we realized we got to make sure that this becomes an event. It’s got to be something we manage because if not, it’ll become a problem for the fireflies.”

Applicants for the event will be notified on Wednesday, April 16, about whether they earned a pass. If awarded a pass, applicants will be charged the remaining $19 event fee to cover the total pass cost of $20. Gates to the park will open at 7 p.m. on event nights, and pass holders will be able to stay until 10 p.m.

Those not awarded a pass to the synchronous fireflies can still enjoy Congaree National Park in different ways year-round. The park is the largest remaining expanse of old-growth bottomland hardwood forest in the Southeastern United States. 

“Canoeing and kayaking on the creek are some very popular activities that people can do,” Manchester said. “People come out and do some nature observation, look for birds, or just kind of come out and take in the big trees that we have here.”

Attendees of the event can visit the Congaree National Park website to learn more on the basic etiquette the firefly event requires.