Up, Up and Away in the Fall Sky: The Must-See Adirondack Balloon Festival
Photo credit: Festival photo by Jason Hupe - Official Photo Crew
As the Adirondack leaves begin to blaze gold, orange, and crimson, one of the region’s most magical spectacles takes flight. From September 18-21, 2025, the skies over Queensbury and Glens Falls will once again fill with color, shape, and wonder at the 52nd Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival. If you know the event, these years bring new twists; if you haven’t yet, this is the version to see.
A light breeze of history.
The roots of the Adirondack Balloon Festival stretch back to 1972, when John Marsden, a balloonist from Manchester, Vermont, visited a Queensbury school for a balloon inflation demonstration. This humble beginning paved the way for what is now a cherished tradition in the region.
Photo credit: Ovidiu Hrubaru
The first official Festival was held at what was then Adirondack Community College in 1973, featuring about 18 balloonists.
Over the years, the Festival has blossomed from a modest gathering to one of the largest (and oldest) in the Eastern U.S. The peak years saw over 150 balloons launching, a testament to the Festival's growing popularity and appeal.
Attendance has topped 175,000 people over the course of a festival in some years.
Two names are central to its story: Walter Grishkot and his wife, Joan. Walter served for many years as event director and promoter; Joan handled administrative and logistical responsibilities. After their passings (Walter in 2011, Joan in 2021), the Festival has honored them in myriad ways—including naming Sunday’s morning mass-ascension “Walt & Joan’s Mass Ascension.”
What to expect at the 2025 festival.
Though many of the Festival’s beloved features return, there are fresh elements this year that make 2025 especially compelling:
Photo courtesy: Official Adirondack Balloon Festival
Redistributed Flight Schedule: For 2025, the Festival offers a variety in launch times, including several special-shape balloon flights, mass ascensions, and both morning and evening flights. The busiest launch day will be Saturday, with potentially up to 80 balloons launching early in the morning, plus an evening flight.
“Lighting Up The Night” Moonglow: For those who can’t make early flights, the evening Moonglow evenings—especially on Saturday—offer tethered balloons lighting up against dusk. For 2025, approximately 30 to 40 balloons are scheduled for the Moonglow on Saturday night, creating a glowing spectacle against the darkening sky.
Mass Ascension Ceremony Honoring the Founders: Sunday morning’s Walt & Joan’s Mass Ascension is always a highlight. Attendees looking for that breathtaking moment of dozens of balloons rising in unison against the Adirondack ridgelines will find it here.
Expanded Vendor & Local Non-Profit Participation: The Festival continues its tradition of giving priority to local not-for-profits for vendor slots (Flying Farmers, SUNY Adirondack Student Association, etc.). For 2025, there is a stronger push to elevate educational booths and interactive exhibits—introducing more “learn to fly” demos, pilot Q&A sessions, and possibly more hands-on kid-friendly aviation/aerospace exhibits.
Early & Late Time Options: The schedule includes early morning launch opportunities (5–6:30 am) and evening flights. Additionally, the Thursday kickoff at Crandall Park in Glens Falls provides a more intimate setting before things shift entirely to the airport.
It’s more than just balloons: A holistic festival experience.
What sets the Adirondack Balloon Festival apart isn’t just how many balloons are in the air, but how grounded and accessible the event remains:
Moonglow. Photo courtesy Official Adirondack Balloon Festival.
Free Admission and Parking: A rarity for something of this scale. Both are free. VIP parking passes are available but limited, and many festivalgoers attend without paying the extra fee.
More than just a spectacle, the Adirondack Balloon Festival is a celebration of Community: From kids’ activity zones, craft fairs, local food vendors, musical performances, special shape balloon displays, and often a sense of shared pride, the Festival is deeply tied to the local community.
Scenery & Timing: The mid-September dates are ideal. The foliage is turning, the air is crisp, morning flights often happen in misty dawn with mountain silhouettes, and evenings are long enough for Moonglow but cool enough to make a bonfire or camp-like atmosphere appealing. For photographers, those light conditions are spectacular.
Accessibility & Variety: Whether you come just for one evening, enjoy early sunrise flights, or stay for all four days, there’s something for every schedule. The Festival is also committed to providing a fully accessible experience for people with disabilities. And while the balloon flights are the main draw, the non-flight events (music, food, vendor crafts) mean that even if weather cancels a flight, you still have a lot to experience.
The 2025 Adirondack Balloon Festival should be on your fall Bucket List.
If you’re planning your Adirondack fall, here are some compelling reasons to pencil this Festival in:
The Adirondack Balloon Festival includes fun, special shapes.
It’s a rite of the season — Balloon festivals are rare in the East; this one has decades of pedigree. The visual—dozens of balloons lifting together at dawn or glowing at dusk—is a sensory experience that marks autumn more memorably than leaf-peeping alone.
It bridges local flavor and spectacle — Eat local. Shop from local crafts. Hear local bands. The bigger budget of the spectacle (balloons, large crowds) pays off in the smaller moments (s’mores, meeting pilots, kids’ exhibits, conversations).
Photography and aerial Beauty — The Festival gives chances to capture shots: pre-dawn mist, balloons silhouetted on ridges, late sunsets, and moonglow reflections. For aficionados of landscape photography, drone forbiddance enhances the purity of the image (though drones are not permitted). My first time at the Festival was with my best friend and her dad, who was a professional photographer for General Electric.
It’s perfect for multi-day getaways — With its free admission, multiple launch times, and related activities, you can combine this with hiking, lake visits, or touring the region. Staying in the Lake George/Glens Falls area, you can turn this into a whole fall weekend.
Expert tips to maximize your experience.
New things to see even if you’ve been before — More special shapes, a stronger vendor and educational presence, the Thursday evening launch in Glens Falls (Crandall Park), expanded Moonglow, a stretched schedule, more attention to honoring the founders—if you’ve come in past years, there are fresh reasons to return.
Tips to maximize your festival visit.
Arrive early for morning flights: parking and traffic tend to congest between 5 and 9 am and again in the evening hours.
Bring layers: Adirondack mornings in September are chilly; evening Moonglows get cold fast once the sun dips.
Check the weather: the Festival is beautifully unpredictable. Balloons require wind speeds of about 5 mph, no rain, and stable weather forecasts.
Respect the rules: no pets (except service animals), no drones, no smoking—these are for safety, and help preserve the quality of the spectacle. Bring a flashlight for evening events.
The 2025 Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival isn’t just a festival—it’s an autumn ritual wrapped in color, light, and community. For locals, photographers, families, and travelers alike, it offers both the grandeur of hundreds of balloons floating skyward and the warmth of a community gathering steeped in tradition. If you make only one festival pilgrimage this fall in the Adirondacks, this is the one.
Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival.
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