Carson Valley Balloon Rides • Balloon Weddings • Site Seeing Balloon Tours

Balloon Flight Information

Enjoy an exclusive balloon ride any time of year above the Carson Valley (Map). Other locations by request.

Quality vs Quantity

There was a time when most of my flying was done in large balloons with up to a dozen passengers on board. Now there's nothing wrong with sharing a basket with a dozen or so of your 'new best friends' on a possibly once in a life time experience, just as there's nothing wrong with riding a Greyhound bus across the United States with a fellow named Bubba who likes Ripple. But, confine any group of strangers to a small area for any time, and there's a good chance that someone in the group is going to whine about something... "I'm uncomfortable!" "You're standing on my foot" or " I can't see over this guys big head" are a few we've heard in the past, and are all legitimate complaints. That whiner may be you after spending an hour in a crowded basket with the Sobotnique family and their eight year old hyper-active twins. Now that'll be fun, won't it?

The only way for passengers to truly enjoy and appreciate the beauty of ballooning as I, an "old school" balloonist believes it to be experienced, is to deliver the experience to small private parties. The only distractions you'll have during one of our flights are the distractions you create, like the sound of the shutter on your camera, or the smooch from your sweetheart as we float around on what ever winds Mother Nature dishes out that day. That's the beauty of ballooning with us! Oh, and you'll never have to deal with those Sobotnique kids in our balloon!

Note: The Sobotnique family is a fictitious name I made up to protect the names of the several families whose names I can't remember, who gave me the opportunity to experience an hour in a balloon basket with their hyper kids. Any resemblance to real families with hyper active kids named Sobotnique is purely a coincidence.

the flight...

Based on the days weather conditions, we'll select a launching location best suited for optimum downwind views, flight duration and suitable downwind landing sites.

Inflating the hot air balloon takes only a few minutes providing you the opportunity to become involved as a crew member, or you may sit back, observe and take pictures.

Once the balloon is inflated, you'll be invited into our hand woven wicker gondola. The first thing you'll notice is the size of the balloon as it towers above us.

There is room in the gondola for your backpack, camera bag, or the jackets and sweaters that often get shed floating in the warm sunshine. There's also a nice cushion seat in our basket that seats two people comfortably without sacrificing the views!

Once situated, you'll be instructed on proper landing proceedures, and in-flight proceedures... a "do's and don'ts" pre-flight briefing. Minutes later you'll be enjoying breathtaking views of the Sierra Nevada, the Carson Valley, Carson City and usually Lake Tahoe. [ See a few photos here ] You'll also experience ballooning at lower altitudes as we love hopping over trees, playing in the Carson River and skimming fields! Bring extra film or memory cards and fully charged batteries for your camera(s).

After about an hour in the air (sometimes longer), we'll gently land (we rarely land in the same place twice) where our trusty ground/chase crew will be there to greet us. We'll quickly pack up the balloon (you're more than welcome to help) then we'll start the tradtional post flight celebration with complementary champagne, sparkling cider, or Full Sails to commemorate your return to Mother Earth.

Please allow 3 hours out of your day for an experience that will last a life time!

Balloon Nevada • P.O. Box 2718, Gardnerville, NV 89410 • Email • Telephone: 775-790-7572
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