Hot Air Balloon Rides in Hudson Valley, New York: 3 Operators Compared

Quick picks

Lowest price Above All Balloon Rides $300 per person for Shared Ride
Private flight Above All Balloon Rides $1,200 per group for Private 2 Person Ride
Smallest groups Balloon NY Balloons carry up to 2, 4 or 8 passengers

Every option side by side

Operator	What you get	From	Length	Group	Weight limit	Cancellation	Book
Above All Balloon Rides	Shared RideIncludes Pre-flight briefing, Help with inflation if you want, Flight, Landing and pack-up, Post-flight beverage toast, Return to your car	$300 per person	About 3-4 hours total, 45-60 minutes in the air		Give your weight if over 250 lbs	All flights weather permitting (calm winds, no rain within 50 miles). Refund terms not published on the site.	Check dates
Balloon NY	Regular FlightIncludes Champagne or non-alcoholic toast, Return to the launch site	$350 per person	Allow up to 3 hours for the whole excursion; 45 minutes to over an hour in the air	Balloons carry up to 2, 4 or 8 passengers		Weather cancellations moved to another date; asks at least 24 hours' notice to cancel. No deposit required.	Check dates
Above the Clouds	Traditional Champagne Balloon RideIncludes Champagne toast after landing, Chase crew drives you back to the launch site	$395 per person	About 2 1/2 hours start to finish, about an hour in flight	up to 12 passengers		Weather call by 8pm the night before; weather cancellations are rescheduled. Vouchers transferable, non-refundable; arriving late forfeits them.	Check dates
Above All Balloon Rides	Private 2 Person RideIncludes Pre-flight briefing, Flight, Post-flight beverage toast, Return to your car	$1,200 per group	About 3-4 hours total, 45-60 minutes in the air	2 passengers	Give your weight if over 250 lbs	All flights weather permitting (calm winds, no rain within 50 miles). Refund terms not published on the site.	Check dates
Balloon NY	Exclusive Two-Person Flight PackageIncludes Champagne celebration after the flight	$1,200 per group	Allow up to 3 hours for the whole excursion; 45 minutes to over an hour in the air	2 passengers, balloon to yourselves		Weather cancellations moved to another date; asks at least 24 hours' notice to cancel. No deposit required.	Check dates
Above the Clouds	Exclusive Two Passenger FlightIncludes Champagne toast after landing	$1,599 per group	About 2 1/2 hours start to finish, about an hour in flight	2 passengers plus pilot		Weather call by 8pm the night before; weather cancellations are rescheduled. Vouchers transferable, non-refundable; arriving late forfeits them.	Check dates
Above All Balloon Rides	Private 4 Person RideIncludes Pre-flight briefing, Flight, Post-flight beverage toast, Return to your car	$1,600	About 3-4 hours total, 45-60 minutes in the air	4 passengers, basket with a door	Give your weight if over 250 lbs	All flights weather permitting (calm winds, no rain within 50 miles). Refund terms not published on the site.	Check dates
Above the Clouds	Small Group / Private Family Balloon FlightIncludes Champagne toast after landing	$2,699 per group	About 2 1/2 hours start to finish, about an hour in flight	up to 4 passengers		Weather call by 8pm the night before; weather cancellations are rescheduled. Vouchers transferable, non-refundable; arriving late forfeits them.	Check dates

From each operator's own website, checked October 21, 2026. How we compare.

Randall Airport, the Shawangunks and Columbia County

Above the Clouds launches from Randall Airport in Middletown, about 4 miles from the city center and, by the operator's count, about an hour north of New York City. Its flights cross the rolling hills and farms of the lower Hudson Valley, with the Shawangunk Ridge to the north and New York City in view to the south on clear days. Altitude runs from treetop height to about 3,000 feet, and the pilot picks a landing spot, usually a farm or open field.

Upriver, Above All Balloon Rides works across the Capital Region and names Hudson, Valatie, Kinderhook, the Catskills, Glens Falls, the Adirondacks and Syracuse as launch areas. Its takeoffs and landings are in open pasture and rough ground. Balloon NY's directions page points to Columbia County Airport at 1142 Route 9H in Ghent, plus Neahwa Park in Oneonta and Aviation Mall in Queensbury. It picks each launch site by wind direction and chooses the landing spot in the air.

A balloon in flight at the Mid-Hudson balloon festival — Photo: Juliancolton, Public domain

Sunrise at Randall Airport, sunsets upriver

Above the Clouds flies at sunrise, seven days a week. It sends each party a meeting time that shifts with the season, and passengers who miss it forfeit their vouchers, with no exceptions. Plan on about 2.5 hours from start to finish, with about an hour aloft. After landing comes a champagne toast, and the chase crew packs up the balloon and drives everyone back to the launch site.

Balloon NY launches within about an hour of sunrise or in the two hours before sunset. It asks passengers to allow up to three hours for setup, a flight of 45 minutes to over an hour, packing up, a toast with champagne or a soft drink, and the ride back. Above All Balloon Rides flies at sunrise or 1 to 2 hours before sunset and plans 3 to 4 hours in all for 45 to 60 minutes aloft. Guests may help with inflation, and the package ends with a beverage toast and a ride back to their cars.

Year-round flying and Labor Day at Tymor Park

Balloon NY flies year-round and avoids midday, when thermals make the air turbulent; in winter, weaker winds sometimes allow later flights. It cancels for rain, fog, low cloud or winds above 9 knots, and also when there is too little wind for a real flight. Above All wants winds under about 7 to 10 mph and no rain within 50 miles. Above the Clouds needs calm winds and no rain, and its pilot decides around 8 pm the night before, weighing surface winds, winds aloft, visibility and cloud cover.

The Hudson Valley Hot-Air Balloon Festival, hosted by the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce, is held at Tymor Park in LaGrangeville on Labor Day weekend with more than 100 balloons. The 35th edition ran September 4 to 6, 2026. Balloons launch at 6:30 am on Saturday and Sunday and at 5:30 pm Friday through Sunday. Tethered rides cost $30 in cash on site, and full flights cost $350, sold in advance only.

$300 to $395 seats and a 14-passenger basket

Above All Balloon Rides lists the lowest shared price, $300 per person, plus $1,200 for a private flight for two and $1,600 for a private four-person flight in a basket with a door. It asks passengers over 250 pounds to give their weight, and it does not fly pregnant passengers or people whose knee or hip problems seriously limit mobility. Its site posts no refund terms.

Balloon NY charges $350 per person or $1,200 for an exclusive two-person package with a champagne celebration, takes payment by Venmo or cash, and currently asks no deposit. It advises booking early for a specific day; weather cancellations move to another date, and it wants at least 24 hours' notice to cancel or postpone.

Above the Clouds charges $395 for a shared ride of up to 12 passengers and sells it as front-row seating. A private flight for two costs $1,599, a private group of up to four pays $2,699, and its largest basket carries 14. Its vouchers are transferable but non-refundable, with no exceptions, and they expire. Weather cancellations are rescheduled. It requires pants and closed-toe shoes, and shorts, skirts and dresses are not allowed.

Before you book

Wear pants and closed-toe shoes; Above the Clouds does not allow shorts, skirts or dresses, and says the air aloft is no colder than at ground level.
Arrive on time for an Above the Clouds sunrise flight. Its fine print says late arrivals forfeit their vouchers, with no exceptions.
Bring Balloon NY's signed release form on flight day, and use a neck or wrist strap on your camera; its crew chief can also photograph you from the ground.
If you weigh over 250 pounds, tell Above All Balloon Rides ahead of time so the pilot can plan the load.
Getting there. Middletown sits near the junction of I-84 and NY 17 (the future I-86). From New York City it can be reached by bus or on Metro-North's Port Jervis Line with a change at Secaucus, and Randall Airport is about 4 miles from the city center.

The operators

Above All Balloon Rides

from $300 per person

Shared Ride and 2 more options

Length: About 3-4 hours total, 45-60 minutes in the air
Weight: Give your weight if over 250 lbs

Griswold family has been in ballooning for 40+ years

Check dates All details

Balloon NY

from $350 per person

Regular Flight and 1 more option

Length: Allow up to 3 hours for the whole excursion; 45 minutes to over an hour in the air
Group: Balloons carry up to 2, 4 or 8 passengers

Operates three balloons, carrying up to 2, 4 and 8 passengers

Check dates All details

Above the Clouds

from $395 per person

Traditional Champagne Balloon Ride and 2 more options

Length: About 2 1/2 hours start to finish, about an hour in flight
Group: up to 12 passengers

Site is branded Balloon Rides NY (Above the Clouds, Inc.)

Check dates All details

Hudson Valley questions

How much is a hot air balloon ride in the Hudson Valley?

Shared flights cost $300 per person with Above All Balloon Rides, $350 with Balloon NY and $395 with Above the Clouds. A private flight for two is $1,200 with Above All or Balloon NY and $1,599 with Above the Clouds.

Can you ride a balloon at the Hudson Valley Hot Air Balloon Festival?

Yes. At the Labor Day weekend festival at Tymor Park in LaGrangeville, tethered rides are $30, cash only, and full flights over the valley are sold in advance only, with limited spots.

Head to head

More hot air balloon rides in the Northeast

Vermont from $395
Hunterdon County, New Jersey from $300
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania from $275

Sources

Prices and policies come from each operator's own pages, read on October 21, 2026. Seasons, rules and local details come from the pages below.