Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

The largest hot air balloon gathering in the world, held over nine days every October at Balloon Fiesta Park on the northern edge of Albuquerque. More than five hundred balloons go up together in the mass ascensions, which begin around seven in the morning on the weekends and the middle Wednesday, and several evenings close with a Balloon Glow, when the balloons stay tethered on the field and light up after dark. The 2026 edition, the fifty-fourth, runs from the 3rd to the 11th of October. Albuquerque is about an hour south of Santa Fe, so it works as an early start if your dates line up, but book well ahead because rooms across the whole region go months in advance.

Where

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Website

balloonfiesta.com