Hot Air Balloon Ride

For my 25th birthday one of my bucket list dreams came true…I went on a hot air balloon ride! Click the video below to watch our adventure in the sky.

My mom and I woke up around 4am and drove to Ballooning Snohomish. We arrived about 30 minutes after sunrise, checked in and then drove to Harvey Field nearby where we began setting up the balloons. Once the balloons were laid out, they used a powerful fan to fill them up with cold air. Then they replaced the fan with propane burners to heat the air until it became hot enough to lift the baskets off the ground. The whole process took about 15 minutes.

Then we were ready for take off! Hot air balloons float with the wind and the wind moves in different directions at different elevations. So the wind patterns dictate the flight path for the day. Our pilot controlled the temperature of the balloon using a propane burner to heat the air inside and guided us along the path.

The views were breathtaking! It was magical being so high up in the sky and looking down on the world. We traveled for about an hour and saw panoramic views of the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges and the beautiful farmlands of the Snohomish valleys.

My mom and I got lucky because there were only two other people in the basket with us (another mom and daughter). Depending on how many people book a flight that day you could have a small group like we did or a larger group of 8 + the pilot. One thing to mention is the balloon ride is very noisy (from the hot air inflating and deflating). We got used to it after a bit but if you have sensitive hearing I recommend bringing ear plugs.

We landed in Bob’s Corn Maze (a field nearby in Snohomish) and then we were driven back to our home base where we had champagne and cake. A special day with my mama, beautiful views, fun adventure, lasting memories. Definitely recommend going on a hot air balloon ride. You will have the best time!