At Balloon Fiesta Park, located north of Alameda Blvd., one mi (1.6 km) west of I-25 (take either Alameda Blvd or Tramway Blvd exit off I-25), . $6, children ages 12 and under free (parking $10 per car).
The Fiesta is the world's largest ballooning event, largest annual international event in North America, and one of the most photographed events in the world. A cultural landmark for Albuquerque (and indeed, all of New Mexico), this festival gives you a first-hand look at the world of ballooning. For nine days in October, you may walk out onto a large field where balloonists from around the world set up, inflate, launch, and possibly land their balloons. Mass ascensions of balloons with hundreds of different colors and shapes create an often stunning and magnificent sight. It's one of the most heavily attended festivals in the entire U.S.
Balloons fly best in cooler conditions, so many of the events take place early in the morning. Traffic is pretty bad around the festival; expect a long, long line of cars (you may want to seriously consider taking park-and-ride to beat the traffic). Get your hotel reservations far in advance, because everyone fills up around this time of year.
The event begins on the first Saturday of October and ends with a farewell mass ascension on the Sunday of the following weekend, with numerous events in-between, such as concerts and balloon races. Here are a few of the highlights of the fiesta:
Every day there's a Dawn Patrol at around 6AM, where a few balloons take off before the sun rises. These balloons test the conditions before other balloons take off.
On weekend days at about 7AM the Mass Ascension occurs, which is the lift off of all the balloons participating in the fiesta, usually in two waves. Not to be missed.
On weekend evenings (except for the final day of the event) a Balloon Glow takes place, when the balloons don't lift off the ground, but are illuminated by the light of their propane burners going off.
The Special Shapes Rodeo happens at 7AM on the Thursday and Friday of the event, which is a Mass Ascension for all the "special shape" balloons. There are also Balloon Glows called Glowdeos (a portmanteau of "glow" and "rodeo") for the special shape balloons. The special shapes are the balloons in forms other than the standard balloon shape, and are very popular with kids - expect to see animals, cartoon characters, clowns, and many other colorful creations. Returning favorites include a milk cow, a wagon coach, and a trio of bees.
And if you want to do more than watch the balloons, there are several local companies which provide balloon rides year-round: Rainbow Ryders, +1 505 823-1111, is the only one which operates directly from Balloon Fiesta Park during the Balloon Fiesta, but there's also Above and Beyond Affordable Balloon Rides, +1 505 293-0000, , Above It All Balloon Rides, +1 505 861-3386, Aliens Aloft, +1 505 864-8871, , Beautiful Balloons Co., +1 800 367-6625 , Private Balloon Flights, +1 505 550-2677, , and Skyspan Adventures, +1 505 250-2300, .
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Albuquerque
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Albuquerque - updated May 2024
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Albuquerque Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
