There are few things more magical than standing in the darkness watching flashes of gold light illuminate the night sky. Glow worms are equally mesmerising, but the fact that fireflies can only be seen for around three weeks a year makes a sighting that little bit more extraordinary.
The Blue Mountains have a number of different locations you can find them and they are often at the same place, or very close to glow worm sites, so you can experience both bioluminescent wonders at the same time!
Before we get into the article, I want to make it clear that I am no firefly expert, but I have had several incredible firefly experiences in the Blue Mountains and this article contains everything I learnt.
When you can find fireflies in the Blue Mountains
Time of year
This is the tricky bit because the fireflies may come out at slightly different times each year according to weather conditions. They are also only out and flashing for a relatively short amount of time each evening. Sightings usually take place between the very end of November and the first three weeks of December.
For this reason I’d recommend opting for somewhere around the second week of December if you’re only going to try once.
This should ensure (although nothing is a guarantee) that they have already come out for the season, without running the risk of being too late.
We have personally seen them in the first, second and third week of December. It’s best to avoid rainy nights as I have heard this can affect whether you’ll see them, although I haven’t personally looked during the rain.
It’s also worth noting that depending on conditions, there can either be hundreds upon hundreds of fireflies in an evening, or a small number of around 20 or so. Either way it will be special and you can never really predict what you’ll find year by year.
Time of day
From my own experience the fireflies have tended to start coming out between 8.15pm and 8.45pm and have stayed out for anywhere between 30 minutes and one hour and a half. For this reason I would recommend arriving at your chosen spot no later than 8pm.
This will ensure you have plenty of time to find a space you’re comfortable with and be ready and waiting for the start of the action.
You could definitely arrive later, but if you’re really keen and it’s your one shot, then come early and with a little patience.
The first 30-45 minutes of the experience has tended to be when we’ve seen the most fireflies and it peters out as the evening goes on, so you really don’t want to miss the best bit!
Blue Mountains firefly viewing locations
The Blue Mountains have a vast number of locations where fireflies can be found. The only one which I’d say is ‘well known’ is the Cathedral of Ferns in Mount Wilson - which is a place we have personally seen fireflies.
We have also seen them on the Waterfall Walk in Mount Wilson and at Dantes Glen.
We also know they are present in Burralow Creek (this is supposed to be one of the best places but was closed when we tried to visit), Birdwood Gully, Sassafras Gully, Horseshoe Falls and many more but we haven’t yet seen them there ourselves yet.
The Cathedral of Ferns, Mount Wilson
The easiest place we know to view the fireflies is at Mount Wilson. Although the exact location they come out may vary slightly year on year, from our experience they are not really found on the main Cathedral of Ferns walking trail.
On our visit they were found a little way up the Mount Irvine Road, we took the coordinates for the exact area we saw them here: -33.499956, 150.394503 (or you can click here to find it on Google Maps).
Although you are walking up a road to find them, in the evening it’s extremely quiet, and it’s a surprise to even see one car. There is also room to move fully off the road if required.
The fireflies were flashing in amongst the trees on both sides of the path, as well as flying just above our heads as they crossed between the two areas.
The walking trail at the Cathedral of Ferns
It was an incredible sight and a real joy to watch. It was also incredibly easy to get there, taking just a few minutes. Just remember never to shine light on the fireflies and keep all lights switched off to let your eyes adjust to the spectacle.
We also saw fireflies by the waterfall where the glow worms are on the nearby Mount Wilson Waterfall Walk. We only saw a couple but that may be because we went late, after having already been to the Cathedral of Ferns.
Although there may be many at the Waterfall Walk earlier in the evening, I would recommend checking the Cathedral of Ferns first as it’s much more of a guarantee and checking the Waterfall Walk if you are lucky enough to be staying in Mount Wilson for more than one night.
Due to how limited the time is that the fireflies are out and active, you can’t really check two sites on one day like you might with glow worms.
Dantes Glen, Lawson
Dantes Glen is another wonderful spot, it’s slightly harder to access than the Cathedral of Ferns as it does have quite a few staircases to climb down - and more importantly up on the way back!
The total walk is about 1.2km return. Some of the staircases are uneven and in the dark that might not be suitable for everyone - but as mentioned, the Cathedral of Ferns is very easy, so no one needs to miss out.
The fireflies are not really by the waterfall itself, but alongside the creek just past the falls. They’ll fly all around the tree tops and if you’re lucky, as we were, just above your head too!
It’s another truly spectacular viewing experience. As with all the spots, remember not to shine your light on the fireflies and find a place to stand so you can keep your light off. If you keep a torch on, your eyes won’t adjust and if there is anyone else around you’ll also ruin their experience.
Taking care of the fireflies
Please always be respectful when viewing fireflies - or any wildlife - both to the animals and to others around you who are also trying to have a wonderful night.
Do not catch the fireflies! They can be harmed by picking them up and as they only breed for a few weeks a year they really need to be left to do their thing and keep the population going.
Do not shine light on the fireflies and keep your torch off for a better viewing experience.
Keep quiet so as not to disturb their natural behaviour.
Watch out for them landing on you, particularly if you are taking photos as they can be attracted to the light. Let them move on in their own time and be careful not to squish them. We had them land on our boots as well as on the floor beside us.
Taking photos of fireflies
Fireflies are notoriously hard to photograph as they move so quickly and are unpredictable. The easiest way to photograph them is to stand in one place and wait for them to fly past you. You’ll want to bring a tripod and some patience.
The best strategy is to keep taking photos in the same direction as you never know which direction the fireflies will go (they seem to make some pretty tight turns and fly erratically!). This increases your chances of getting lucky.
The key to getting a unique photo of fireflies is to take a long exposure, so around a 30 second photo. This will mean your camera will have enough time to capture the light of anything that comes by, and you’ll get some yellow dashes like the photos we took above. Don’t use the shutter release button, but a countdown timer so that you don’t have any shake on the camera which would blur your photos.
Another thing to consider is the camera focus. As you will be taking photos in the dark, your camera won’t be able to lock onto anything, so auto-focus won’t work. You’ll have to use manual focus and set the focal distance to just under infinity.
It’s easier to get amazing photos if the number of fireflies is high, but you can’t predict that, and even small numbers are magical, so you won’t be disappointed!
If they fly close to you, you can catch them on a phone too, but it’s much more difficult.
This post may contain affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, that we will earn a small commission if you click through and decide to make a purchase. This helps towards the costs of running our website. Thanks for your support!
