Trip Report: Firefly's Hunt /Hike
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Firefly's Hunt /Hike By Jack Cook |
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| HIKE | 07/26/2026 | NTD |
| WMC Field Report: Fireflies Point of Origin: Ogden Frontrunner Station to Firefly Park, Logan UT Cost: $62 (car rental + gas) Tips for Anyone Making the Trip * Bring binoculars. * Best viewing window: June 11-13, around 10:00-10:30 PM. * Where to start: Head to the observation tower closest to the willow tree. Scan the willow first, then widen your search outward from there. * This is not a Texas-style firefly show. High Winds, Sawgrass, and a Damaged Observation Telescope We get to Firefly Park in Logan at 10:00 PM. We climb to the observation tower overlooking the wetlands of Firefly Park. My acquaintance who tagged along is a constant talker. I try using the telescope on the tower to search for these fireflies. Its lens is scratched so bad it's useless. It's humid, there's the slight spit of rain. I spend an hour in the observation tower scouring the park for these fireflies. Dusk disappears, it goes dark. This park is a designated dark sky park. It's dead still. I see one flash, by the willow tree. I have found them. I come off the observation tower. I go to the willow tree, and we go out to the sawgrass, and the edge of the roots of the willow tree. We are just out of the overhang of the willow tree. It's me, my friend, and two cowboys right up on the edge of this sawgrass, waiting for these fireflies. I tell the cowboys I saw them light up from the tower. They say they've seen them right there, and point to an inch from the top of the sawgrass, down a water gut. I spot them. It's just like someone switching on a lightbulb, and switching it off. It's two fireflies lighting up right after each other. It almost feels like they're trying to avoid predators, and will put out the signal, but only for a couple of seconds. I breathe a sigh of relief. I had come a long way to see them, and my inside source in Logan kept trying to deter me from going. We go out to the willow, and try to find more, and we try to avoid the willow overhang and the roots, but we cannot find any more lighting bugs except those two(it's likely a group a firefly's, but they only flash two at a time). I still think it's worth it. Utah Fireflies vs. Texas Fireflies The Utah fireflies are different than the ones I experienced in Texas. The ones in Texas are like glow plugs that stay lit, and dim out, and they fill the air from about one foot to ten feet. They're naturally found in parks. The ones in Utah are only in certain areas, and when they light up is in a very small time window(June-July). The Utah fireflies' flashes are also different. Utah's firefly's emit a strong flash for one second(maybe less), and found in areas near willows, and in high grass. Or at least in my experience. |
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