Grandfather Mountain, the not-for-profit nature park run by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, has announced the three event dates for this year’s Grandfather Glows firefly viewing opportunities. A ticketing lottery begins online next week on Monday, May 19.
Since the start of the year, the organization’s natural resource management team has been monitoring factors such as weather conditions (past and present), the long-range forecast, wind forecasts, moon phases and more in an attempt to pick the dates that will provide the best experience for participants.
“We do the very best that we can to be as accurate as possible in predicting the firefly mating period; but ultimately, nature is going to do what nature does,” said John Caveny, vice president of conservation and education for the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation. “We can’t measure, nor do we exactly know, all of the factors that go into firefly emergence, so we use all the resources we can to the best of our abilities. Nature is on its own schedule, and even when things line up the way we think they should, we may miss it. Luckily, our prediction model has been tested in several different locations and we are confident in it.”
The 2025 Grandfather Glows dates are:
- Sunday, June 29, with a rain date of Monday, June 30
- Tuesday, July 1, with a rain date of Wednesday, July 2
- Thursday, July 3, with a rain date of Saturday, July 5
Once again, Grandfather Mountain is providing a rain date for each event. If the organization cancels an event due to adverse weather or conditions, a rain date will be held immediately following the event date. Please note that, due to the July 4 holiday, the rain date for the July 3 event is not the following day, but July 5 instead.
Rain dates are provided as extra insurance that ticketholders will have the opportunity to experience this natural phenomenon.
Lottery Details
Grandfather Glows has received a lot of attention since the event began in 2022. Once again, Grandfather Mountain will be instituting a lottery system for tickets, similar to what is done at national parks for this natural phenomenon. Unlike other parks, though, tickets will be sold to lottery winners at a per-person rate rather than per vehicle. Lottery “winners” will be able to purchase a maximum of six tickets.
May 19 – 25: The 2025 Grandfather Glows lottery is open.
- The lottery will be open from 12 a.m. Monday, May 19 to 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 25, Eastern Time.
- A lottery entry is $5, plus tax.
- You do not need to worry about selecting your preferred event date or indicating how many tickets you would like during the initial lottery registration. If selected as a winner, you will have the opportunity to purchase up to six tickets.
- Only one entry per email address is allowed. The lottery system will not allow you to enter the same email address more than once.
The first round of “winners” will be notified Tuesday, May 27 and will be given a link to purchase tickets. The second round will be notified Tuesday, June 3.
Please note: There will be no waiting list for this event. Once the lottery is over and the above steps have concluded, there will be no remaining tickets. People should not purchase tickets from a source other than Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation as the organization cannot verify the validity of those tickets.
Pricing for 2025
For those selected from the lottery to purchase tickets, the pricing will be as follows:
Adult: $50
Child: $40
Bridge Club Adult: $25
Bridge Club Child: $20
Children under 4 are free and do not require a ticket.
*The prices above are subject to tax.
*Lottery winners will receive a one-time $5 coupon to use toward their ticket purchase as a credit for their initial lottery entry.
What’s the Bridge Club? The Bridge Club is Grandfather Mountain’s annual pass/membership program. In addition to providing members with unlimited regular admission to the park for a year, it also offers a number of other benefits, such as discounts on certain special event tickets, including Grandfather Glows.
To purchase Grandfather Glows tickets with a Bridge Club discount, you must have an active membership at the time of event ticket purchase.
“We encourage anyone interested in these events to visit our site and enter the ticket lottery,” Caveny said. “Our goal for Grandfather Glows is for participants to have a magical evening on Grandfather Mountain while picking up new knowledge about these special insects and an expanded appreciation of the natural world.”
About Grandfather Glows
Research on Grandfather Mountain has confirmed the presence of 10 species of fireflies or illumining insects, including synchronous fireflies (Photinus carolinus), blue ghost fireflies (Phausis reticulata) and glowworms (Orfelia fultoni). Synchronous fireflies are habitat specialists and thrive in northern hardwood forests, such as those found at Grandfather Mountain.
These glowing wonders only appear for a few weeks each year. The Linville, N.C., nature park and preserve hosts annual Grandfather Glows events, opening a portion of the mountain for three nights during mid-June to mid-July, the forecasted peak times, for special bioluminescent evenings, weather and conditions permitting.
Each year, three events are offered, each with the same schedule, lasting approximately four hours (7 – 11 p.m.). Grandfather Glows begins in MacRae Meadows with educational programs led by the park’s naturalists and then transitions up to the viewing area in the park before dark.
Food and drinks are permitted, though alcohol is prohibited. Pets are not allowed, and flash photography is prohibited. Attendees will be provided with a more detailed set of rules and firefly viewing etiquette prior to their event. The event is accessible for those with limited mobility or in a wheelchair.
Grandfather Glows is hosted by the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation, a private, nonprofit organization — not a state or national park. All proceeds from the lottery and ticket sales go toward preserving Grandfather Mountain and sharing its wonders in ways that deepen visitors’ appreciation of nature and inspire good stewardship of the earth.
Many more details related to Grandfather Glows and the 2025 ticket lottery can be found at www.grandfather.com/fireflies. Individuals interested in these firefly viewing events are strongly encouraged to visit this page for more information.
The nonprofit Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation strives to inspire conservation of the natural world through education, exploration and example. For more information, visit www.grandfather.com.
GMSF_Fireflies and night sky_Photo by Aaron Daines_Courtesy of Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation
