Floating the Rio Grande for the Balloon Fiesta
We are back in New Mexico just in time for the 50th anniversary of the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is a one-of-a-kind event that should be on every nomad's bucket list.
This year we wanted to have a whole new experience at the Fiesta. I just received two FreeIn inflatable SUPs and thought what a great way to see the balloons from the Rio Grande River. Luckily for us, there was plenty of flow this year due to unseasonably high rainfall this summer and fall.
I wrote this guide because I was scouring the internet for information and found little to no details so we set out and floated the river two times to find the best route and now I am sharing it with you.
Check the Conditions of the river
Check the Conditions Before heading out you will want to check the flow of the Rio Grande at the Alameda bridge. Check out this website to check the flow of the river. (https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nm/nwis/uv/?site_no=08329918&PARAmeter_cd=00065,00060).
I’ve also attached a photo of the conditions when we went. If the water is much lower in the 200cfs range I imagine you wouldn’t be able to float the river.
This year the flow was nice there were a few shallow spots so don't use a fin on a SUP. Here are the conditions from today we took about 4 hours it could have been faster we stopped multiple times once the balloons we up in the sky.
Where to start
I reached out on Facebook to get some beta on the float from the locals. I had received a few options on where to put in but most of the put-in sites were too far North and with a slower flow, it would take us hours to get to the prime spot to see the Balloons splash and dash in the Rio.
I scoured the internet and google maps and found a much better and closer launch site in Corralles on Romero Street. (https://goo.gl/maps/QpQV1qpS6Z1cb3H8A) This site is straight ahead of the gate. There is a big drop-off to get into the river but we found a nice little place where we could get our SUPs. This is a bit tricky and if you are unsure about your athletic abilities you should consider another launch site.
For a longer float, a lot of people start from this alternate launch site as well. (https://goo.gl/maps/YWZ9GwkVHG7fh53H9)
When to Start
We started around 6:30 am the balloons seem to launch around 7 am weather conditions depending. From the Romero Street launch, you are still a good deal away from the action and the balloon field where all the balloons launch. We found it very helpful if we paddled at a good pace for about 45 minutes to make our way down the river before the balloons start to launch. This is a good way to get the blood flowing and warm up on the river at 6:30 am. If you start from the second launch point you will want to launch much earlier around 6 am and have a really good pace for about an hour to get to the prime location.
We paddled a good deal down the river and sure enough, the balloons started to drop down and splash and dash in the Rio Grande River. This was an incredible experience and a great way to watch the balloon pilots show off their aviation skills.
Where to Exit
You will want to park another vehicle here. (https://goo.gl/maps/wkbx4XavkPVZErkAA) Getting off here will make the float about a 3-hour/7+ mile float. This seemed to be perfect for us. If you started further up north you could be looking at 4+ hours of float time with the slower CFS of the river in the fall.
To make life easier you will want to exit on the north side of the Alameda bridge right before the bridge there is a nice place to exit with the crafts and rinse off. From here it’s a shout 1/4 mile walk back to the car to shuttle your driver back to your launch site.
I couldn’t recommend this float enough and we had an amazing time sharing this experience with our family I think this will be a new Balloon Fiesta Tradition for the VanKookz.
