The quest on our fall trip was to camp at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is the largest balloon gathering in the world. It is also the most photographed annual event in the world. The Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is an annual nine-day balloon gathering during the first full week of October. More than a million people annually visit the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. Saying it is popular is a vast understatement. Getting tickets to camp at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is the very best way to visit the event.
Photoblog, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, October 12, 2025
Yes, we were very close to the launch field, and yes, most of the balloons went right over our RV.
Daily Happy Hour
Photos of the 2025 Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
Sponsors
Given that the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is the most photographed event in the world, it’s no surprise that Kodak historically sponsored it, as everyone then used film cameras. Exxon sponsored the 2025 event. I am glad the event found a large corporate sponsor. In 1972, the event was sponsored (and created) by a local radio station. In 1972, they were worried that they might not get any balloons to the event.
Tips for visiting the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
If you have an RV, the very best way to visit the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta is to camp in one of the many graded parking lots surrounding the field. If you are not camped at the launch field, you will have plenty of day visitors for every event, all arriving at the same time to keep you company as you try to get to the field.
The weather is an issue.
When we visited the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta in 2004, we were staying in Santa Fe. Santa Fe is about two hours north of the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta launch field. The weather each morning for the mass ascension was cold. Cold weather is ideal for the balloons. Wind, rain, and especially thunderstorms, however, will cancel everything until the weather clears.
During our 2025 visit, we lost three days of flying due to adverse weather. Unfortunately, this included almost everything scheduled during the second weekend. Don’t expect calm winds and blue sky for every day of the event. That is why you want to be there for the entire event.
Take a Balloon Ride at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with Rainbow Riders
Take a Balloon Ride at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta with Rainbow Riders, the only company authorized to give balloon rides directly from Balloon Fiesta Park during the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.
Camping at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
During our eight-night stay at the Albuquerque Fiesta, we camped without needing to add water or dump our holding tanks. Thanks to our extensive solar array, we only needed to run our generators to power the air conditioners. I’m experiencing issues with my inverter, so although I can run the air conditioner from the battery, we decided not to do so this time to maximize the inverter’s lifespan. I mentioned our inverter issue in the post about the Grand Canyon. Here is a quick link. RVing to the Grand Canyon
Here is a link to operating our air conditioner from our battery. RV air conditioning on batteries and solar. Can you do it?
Except for a very few designated (very expensive) campsites, you will be camping in a large, open, graded gravel parking lot. Your campsite will be approximately twenty feet wide and long enough to accommodate parking your car behind your RV. All fires, including those from barbecue grills, are prohibited because the gravel lots are located above the landfill. Methane gas is still rising out of the ground at the field.
We arrived on opening day and stayed in the north lot for eight nights. While there, we had two issues. Noise, mainly from construction generators, was a serious problem. We observed that some RVs had to relocate because their generators were too loud.
The second problem was that our campsite had a drainage issue. Really, the issue was that all the drainage went to our campsite. One morning, our friends had to create a bridge so we could exit our RV without wading in the huge puddle. Wading was required to rescue our chairs, tables, and outdoor mat.
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About our links
As you are aware, our blog’s income is zero, which enables us to remain independent and tell the truth. We do not get income or commissions. No, we don’t make paid endorsements. We don’t make recommendations; instead, we will tell you what we like (or dislike). The links are only provided as a quick reference to help our readers.
Links
Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta home page
Visit Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
Camping at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
Rainbow Riders Balloon Ride at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
About our photos
These photos were taken during our visit. Our photos are often “enhanced” to represent what we saw in person and correct for lighting and other things. Sometimes, this editing makes the images look better than they did in person.
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I would love to follow you guys around in our RV! You have great adventures!
Great images, good to see you had an enjoyable time with friends.
One question: We attended the Fiesta a few years ago when we had a Class B RV with large black and gray tanks. But now we have a different vehicle with a cassette toilet. Did you notice if there were any facilities for emptying a cassette toilet?
Thanks….Peter
I didn’t see anything like a dump station. Perhaps there was something near the full hook-up sites.
Wow! Everything looks amazing.
Thanks for sharing Scott. Looks like a lot of fun. How much do these lots cost and how do you make reservations?
Dry camping in the south lot, about a mile from the launch field, was $60 per night in 2025. Dry camping at the field ranges from $130 to $150 per night. Full hookups were $300 per night.
Keep in mind, there is a 3-night minimum. In 2025 if you picked the wrong three nights you would have been very disappointed due to the weather.
Clubs, like the Escapees, get blocks of reservations for resale in the south lot.
Reservations were opened at 9 am Mountain time on January 15th and were sold out in minutes. We had several people hitting the button on the computer simultaneously, and we managed to get one or two wins for our group.
To park near our friends, we all arrived at the same time on Friday morning.
Barbara and I “cast” your web page onto our TV. Worked great. It brought such joy! Thank you!
The brilliant colors of the balloons were awesome! Better than the Macy’s Day parade.
Those are stunning photos!!! Thanks.
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