LOTTERY
The Great Smoky Mountains Firefly Viewing Lottery
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
In FY25, this reservation product recorded 48,862 orders.
FY25 orders
48,862
Recorded Recreation.gov orders
Historical demand
High
Based on FY25 order volume
Median observed lead
29 days
FY25 reservations with valid lead data
Peak month
May
Month with the most FY25 start dates
Historical demand does not measure reservation difficulty.
Observed booking lead
Mutually exclusive FY25 buckets from order date versus start date. Same calendar day means both fell on the same date.
- Same calendar day—
- 1–7 days—
- 8–14 days—
- 15–30 days71.9% · 35,131
- 31–60 days28.1% · 13,716
- 61+ days0% · 15
Historical seasonality
Share of FY25 orders by reservation start month.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Tours
- Advance Parking Pass · Nature Tour · 240
- Day Before Parking Pass · Nature Tour · 240
- Large Vehicle Parking Pass · Nature Tour · 240
- The Great Smoky Mountains Firefly Viewing · Nature Tour · 120
- The Great Smoky Mountains Firefly Viewing Lottery · Nature Tour · 120
Data limitations
- FY25 Recreation.gov orders only (1 October 2024 – 30 September 2025).
- Does not report current availability, current booking windows, current prices, or quotas.
- Historical demand does not measure availability or difficulty.
- Median observed booking lead is not a “book X days ahead” instruction.