Guides · Experiences
Asheville Hot Air Balloon Rides: Cost, Timing, What It's Like
Hot air balloon rides in Asheville leave at sunrise from Candler. What a flight is like, the $300 price, who can go, when they cancel and how to book.
Most clear mornings, if you stand on a porch in Candler at first light, a hot air balloon comes over the ridge, drifts across the Hominy Valley, and settles into somebody's pasture while a van full of crew chases it down the road. The photos in this guide are exactly that view — a reader's porch, a few minutes west of Asheville, with a balloon coming down in the field across the road. Here is how to be in the basket instead of on the porch.
Hot air balloon rides Sunrise flights over the Hominy Valley, ten minutes west of downtown. Ashe says The balloons come down in the fields around Candler most clear mornings. I've watched them land from a porch — it never gets old. Book October early; fall color from 1,500 feet is the whole point. Meet at the Ingles lot, 1572 Sand Hill Rd, Candler, NC 28715 · (828) 707-2992 Photo: Ask AsheAsheville Balloon Company
The short version
- Who flies: Asheville Balloon Company — Candler-based, flying the Asheville area with an FAA-certified pilot.
- When: sunrise, and only sunrise. Meeting times run from about 6:00 to 7:30 am depending on the season. There are no afternoon flights here; the afternoon winds in the mountains are too strong for it.
- How long: 45 minutes to an hour in the air, covering 2 to 8 miles depending on the wind. Figure about two and a half hours from the parking lot back to the parking lot.
- What it costs: $300 a person on a shared flight, $400 a person for a private basket (your party and the pilot). Gift certificates are a thing, which is why so many of these are birthday and anniversary flights.
- Where you meet: the Ingles parking lot at 1572 Sand Hill Road in Candler, about ten minutes from downtown. There's a Starbucks and a restroom there, which matters at 6 am.
- Who can go: ages 6 and up; anyone under 18 needs a parent to sign the waiver. Passengers over 250 lb are asked to book a private flight.
What the morning actually looks like
You don't drive to a launch field, because there isn't one fixed launch field. You meet the crew in the Ingles lot, they release a small black test balloon to read the wind, and then everyone drives upwind to whichever of their launch sites gives the longest flight that morning. The sites are in the Hominy Valley, the bowl of farmland between Candler and the Pisgah National Forest, with the Parkway ridges along the south side.
The envelope gets laid out and cold-inflated with a fan, then the burner lights and it stands up — the loudest and warmest part of the whole thing. You climb into the basket, the pilot adds heat, and the ground just leaves. There's no lurch. The sensation people don't expect is the silence between burns: you're moving with the wind, so there's no wind.
From a few hundred to a couple of thousand feet you get the valley, the river, the farms, and on a clear morning Mount Pisgah and the long blue wall of the Parkway to the south. Where you land depends entirely on where the wind takes you; the crew follows in the chase vehicle, radios with the pilot, and meets the basket in a field. Then the champagne comes out. The toast is older than the United States — French balloonists in the 1780s offered farmers a bottle as an apology for dropping into their fields, and it stuck.
What it costs, and what the price gets you
Public flights are $300 per person and need at least three passengers to fly; the smaller basket carries four, the big one carries up to six or seven for a single group. Private flights are $400 per person for a two-person minimum — your party, the pilot, nobody else. That's the one for proposals — they have a whole page for weddings and engagements.
The price includes the flight, the chase crew, the ride back to your car and the champagne toast. Tipping the crew is customary, as it is with most guided outdoor things. Book on their site (ashevilleballooncompany.com) or call the number on the card at the top.
When to go
- October is the obvious answer and it books out. Fall color from 1,500 feet, over a valley that's half farms, is the best version of this flight. If you're reading this in October, look at next week, not this weekend.
- Cool, still mornings are the best flying weather year-round — the air is dense, the winds are light, the visibility is long. Dress for it (below).
- Summer flights leave earliest, around 6 am, before the heat and the afternoon storms. The valley is green and the river fog burns off under you.
- Weekends go first. A weekday flight is easier to get and the crew isn't rushed.
Why your flight might get cancelled, and what happens then
Ballooning is the most weather-dependent thing you can book in Asheville, and the company is honest about it. They cancel when surface winds are over 6 mph, when winds aloft are too fast, when visibility is under 10 miles, or when it's raining. They check the forecast two or three days out and again the night before, and they'll call you. Cancelled flights are rescheduled or refunded; a gift-certificate flight is rescheduled within a year rather than refunded.
The practical advice: if you're visiting, book the balloon for your first morning, not your last, so a cancellation has somewhere to go.
What to wear and bring
- Shoes you can walk through wet grass in. Landings happen in fields; the grass is tall and, at sunrise, soaked. Hiking boots or anything waterproof. No sandals, no flip-flops, no heels.
- Layers. It's colder at 6 am than you think and colder again at altitude, even in summer. In the cool months: a real winter jacket, a hat and gloves. The burner over your head is warm; everything else isn't.
- A hat if you're thin on top — the burner.
- Sunglasses and sunscreen in summer. Sunrise is in your eyes for the first twenty minutes.
- Your phone, charged, and a cell number on the booking so the crew can find you in the lot.
- A big breakfast appetite. You'll be back in Candler by 9 with a glass of champagne in you and nothing in your stomach. West Asheville's biscuit places on Haywood Road are ten minutes back toward town.
Who it's for
Couples, obviously — it's the Asheville proposal flight, and the private basket exists for exactly that. Visitors who've already done the Biltmore and the Parkway, because this is the view of the Parkway from the other side. Kids over six who can stand still in a basket for an hour (the rest of the kid-friendly list is on the ground); the burner is loud, so warn the sensitive ones. Birthdays and anniversaries: gift certificates are a big part of their business, and a cancelled gift flight gets rescheduled within a year.
Who it isn't for: anyone who needs a fixed time (you're going at sunrise, whenever sunrise is), anyone who can't handle a cancellation gracefully, and anyone who thinks it's a bad-weather backup plan — it's the opposite.
Back on the ground
By mid-morning you're in Candler with the whole day ahead of you and the town ten minutes east. The West Asheville end of Haywood Road has the breakfast; the River Arts District is the next turn after that. The other things that aren't on a calendar — the comedy bus, the ziplines, the nature center — are on the experiences page, and the weekend itinerary fits a sunrise flight on day two. If you want the evening sorted too, here's what's on this weekend.
On the calendar this weekend
Eliada’s Annual Fall Festival and Corn Maze
Elida Home Corn Maze
"Bourbon & Grooves: Halloween Edition" with Live Music from Ty & The Crew
Bourbon Leaf Cigar Lounge
An Evening with Full Cord
Pisgah Brewing Company, Black Mountain
Sort of Damocles: Songs from Rocky Horror
Eulogy, South Slope
The Arcadian Wild – Make It Out Alive Tour
The Grey Eagle, River Arts District
Want the rest of the things that aren't on a calendar — comedy bus, ziplines, the nature center?
Ask Ashe about tours and ridesFrequently asked questions
How much is a hot air balloon ride in Asheville?
$300 per person on a shared flight with Asheville Balloon Company, or $400 per person for a private basket (two-person minimum). That includes the flight, the chase crew, a ride back to your car and a champagne toast after landing.
Where do Asheville hot air balloon rides take off?
From farm fields in the Hominy Valley around Candler, about ten minutes west of downtown Asheville. You meet the crew in the Ingles parking lot at 1572 Sand Hill Road and they drive you to whichever launch site the wind favors that morning.
How long is the flight?
Usually 45 minutes to an hour in the air, sometimes a little more, covering two to eight miles depending on the wind. Plan on about two and a half hours in total from meeting the crew to getting back to your car.
Are there afternoon or sunset balloon flights in Asheville?
No. Flights leave at sunrise only, with meeting times between about 6:00 and 7:30 am depending on the time of year. Mountain winds are too strong later in the day.
Can kids ride?
Yes, from age 6. Anyone under 18 needs a parent or guardian to sign the waiver and give written consent.
What happens if the weather is bad?
Flights are cancelled for surface winds over 6 mph, strong winds aloft, visibility under 10 miles or rain. The company checks the forecast two to three days ahead and the night before, and cancelled flights are rescheduled or refunded (gift certificates are rescheduled within a year). Book an early morning of your trip so a cancellation has room to move.
Do balloons fly in winter?
They fly whenever the weather allows, and cool, still mornings are some of the clearest flying there is. Dress for it: winter jacket, hat, gloves. Check the booking calendar for the dates on offer.