Balloon Fiesta South RV Lot in de Verenigde Staten

If you are lucky enough to own (or even luckier - to live in) an RV, and then are willing to one-up that luck by attending Balloon Fiesta, go ahead and do yourself an even solider solid and stay at one of the RV lots at Fiesta. We stayed at the South lot in a 'regular' ($35) space for several days during the 2015 Fiesta. All parking in this (and all lots) is done 'rally' style by volunteers who you will meet at check-in. This means that you are parked in the order you come - next to the people who roll in before and after you - in a 'pull through' fashion. There are some areas reserved for clubs who are parking together (i.e. Xscapers, Monaco, Airstream), but other than that, if you want to be parked next to a special someone, you best stage somewhere and roll into the lot before or behind them. This lot is gravel, and is ~3/4mile of a walk from the Balloon Fiesta field. You'll need that walk to burn through the breakfast burritos you will make the choice to eat daily. And, if you decide not to eat those breakfast burritos (SHAME), or maybe are building up your fat stores for winter (NO SHAME), there are Fiesta Official guys & gals driving golf carts between the Fiesta field and the South Lot all day giving folks free lifts back and forth in their rad little caddies. The South Lot itself is typical, packed in rally style parking. Sardine can at its best. It can get a little dusty, although the Fiesta folks do water the lanes. It can be a bit loud - you're allowed to run your generator during they day (but not at night) and you are near a main road. And also, its Fiesta. But, the sudden influx of generator and traffic noise in the morning will only serve to wake you from your slumber so that you can make it to the Fiesta field in time to catch a balloon glow. (Thanks smelly generators!) The two REALLY awesome parts of staying on site at Balloon Fiesta are (A.) not missing a glow or launch because you are stuck in your car in traffic along with the entire rest of Albuquerque since you will be awoken from your slumber by generators at your RV lot in time to walk to the field and (B.) you can see the balloons from your rig AND they often land near or in the South RV Lot. So, if you are too lazy to make the walk to the field every morning, you can just plop your butt in front of your dash, next to your rig, or on your roof and get all the balloon action you could desire (minus the breakfast burritos). In summary, this lot is the furthest 'official Fiesta lot' from the Fiesta itself, but touts the perks of being substantially cheaper than the other 3 lots, and based on our experience there, has a better chance of balloons landing in the lot. There are spaces with water and 30A electric hook-ups available in this lot, but they are towards the rear of the lot - and are $75/night. But, if you desire em, they're there. P.S. - Make your reservations EARLY. As in, reservations for all lots open 9 days after the commencement of each years Fiesta, and fill-up quickly for the next year's Fiesta. There are some walk-in sites available also, and when we were at Fiesta in 2015 it seemed that people were successful in obtaining some of these. There is a 3 night minimum stay - which can be spread across several lots or within the same lot - so if you want less than 3 nights (and don't want to pay for the space when you won't be using it) it is suggested you try a walk-up site. And just one more time for good measure: Fiesta. (Fiesta)

4 jaar geleden

Our first experience with rally style event RV parking and it really couldn’t have been a more perfect experience! From the volunteers who greeted and parked us to shuttle bus service directly to the event there’s a lot to love about this location. Our only struggle was with the uneven site, which was a fair enough trade off for the spectacular views and ease of participation in the Balloon Fiesta! We lived in Albuquerque years ago and attended the fiesta several times, but this was a completely different experience. From having an easy roll out of bed and head to the fiesta without the stress of traffic, to the sitting outside of our RV and watching the sun come up and balloons go directly over our site while we just relax with our coffee the whole thing was overwhelming! It was easy to get in and out with our tow vehicle with special passes for it as well. The ratings reflect how overall wonderful the experience was, as a little “lopsidedness”, and dust is a small price to pay!

4 jaar geleden

We took our 26' Brave to ABQ for the 2019 Balloon Fiesta. Living in sothern NM, we have watched portions on TV many times, but this was our first actual visit. We stayed three nights (Wed-Thu-Fri) at the Fiesta RV lot south of the launch field, also run by the Fiesta folks for the city. That is a great 3 night stay, because the Mass Accession is Saturday mornings, and over before the 1100 checkout time. Mostly dry camping, a some sites with power & water at (IMHO) premium prices. Free (included in RV space) shuttle buses from RV lot to launch field every 15 minutes or so 'till past 2200. Others have mentioned the uneven parking spots, but we were lucky and were guided to one that was near level. Our MH has short fold up hydraulic jacks that only extend 6". The water & dump services stayed busy, but we did not need to them. There is potable water available for free at the entry station, so we topped off before parking. 3 Star rating for access could be 1 star at times. We arrived around 1600 and They were watering the main roads to keep dust down, but it's still mostly a dirt lot with no gravel. Sadly, the Thursday morning launch and evening glow were cancelled due to wind, which brought in a very chilly morning on Thursday. Both Friday and Saturday flights went off as expected, and the balloons came right over the RV lot for a great show at no extra charge! Many were able to change altitude and thus wind direction to return to the field, called flying the "box" by the balloonists. Some landed right in the open center of the RV lot. We only went to the launch field one session ($10 ticket) to see the Friday evening balloon glow close up. There were also two parachute team jumps Friday, one before dark with a huge flag and smoke trails. One after the glow in the dark! The after dark jump featured (I think 4) jumpers with flares and fireworks and made quite a show. I got a short (21 sec) cell phone video of them. Looks like I cannot do video uploads to Campendium directly, only links. As a cautionary note, last year I booked our 3 nights less than 1 hour after 2019 reservations opened a few days after the 2018 Fiesta, and they were the only standard ($40) slots available. We liked it enough to want to go again next year, but at the posted start time, the reservation site got clobbered and I could not connect. When I finally did get thru, both Friday nights were already sold out completely for 2020! We took a Mon-Tue-Wed slot, which only had 2 open.

4 jaar geleden

Stayed at South RV lot 10/5/19 through 10/12/19. Watching hot air balloons fly over our travel trailer in the early morning hours was a wonderful experience. Shuttle service was free, and a convenient way to get to the launch field. These sites do not have hookups, and are great if you are prepared for dry camping. We dumped our tanks and took on fresh water at a local Speedway gas station before arriving. We ran our generator as needed, and people were good about observing quiet hours between 10pm and 5am. Weather was chilly 32 degrees early morning, but reached 70 degrees later in the day. Meow Wolf museum in Santa Fe was fun for us and our ten year old. Also enjoyed Brixens restaurant and Golden Crown Panaderia in Albuquerque.

4 jaar geleden

This was our first time at the festival. If we were to go again we’d try to get the “box view “ or VIP north sites. Very convenient for access to the rally and balloons often drift over and land in the camping area. Be aware of where you’re being parked. Consider if it rains whether your in a potential flooding area. We weren’t impacted but 3 sites over had a river running through it . The staff came and put hay down after the rain stopped. Also, the majority of sites aren’t level, so be sure to bring your leveling blocks (wood), etc. Great experience overall!

4 jaar geleden