Taking place over the first weekend of March each year, the Winthrop Balloon Roundup makes for the perfect winter weekend getaway. Winthrop is four hours from Seattle, located at the base of the North Cascades National Park on the eastern side of the mountains. It has extremely beautiful scenery, a western theme in town, and tons of activities to fill your time between the ballooning festivities.

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How to get to Winthrop

To reach Winthrop from Seattle it’s a four-hour drive. Since Highway 20 — the North Cascades National Park — closes throughout the winter months we recommend taking Highway 2 on this scenic route, or driving over I-90 if you’ll be traveling at night. It’s well worth the trip!

The hot air balloon festival

Attending the hot air balloon festival and night glow is free! You’ll get to see over a dozen balloonists fill up their balloons and dot the Okanagan landscape as they float away. You can also pay for a hot air balloon ride, but we’ll cover that later.

Note: The conditions must be just right to launch the hot air balloons. They need steady 4-6 mile per hour winds to take off — if the wind is too light or too strong, they won’t be able to lift off. Since the balloons have a chance to launch each morning of the festival, you’ll have three tries to see them take off.

Hot air balloon launches

The balloons are scheduled to launch on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings of the festival.

Park at the Methow Valley Thriftway and walk across the street to view the balloons taking off behind the Winthrop Inn. Attending the balloon launch is free, but they do ask you to RSVP here.

The balloons start filling at 7:00 am each morning. Watching the entire setup process is fascinating and generally lasts until 9:00 am.

Watching the balloons (or taking a ride in one) will be cold. Dress appropriately with base layers (men’s/women’s) underneath jeans or insulated pants (men’s/women’s), along with base layers on top (men’s/women’s), followed by a mid layer (men’s/women’s), an insulating layer (men’s/women’s), and winter coat (men’s/women’s). Don’t forget your gloves (men’s/women’s) and hats too!

After we’ve watched most of the balloons launch, we love driving down Twisp-Winthrop Eastside Rd to watch them land amongst the fields. The views of the rolling hills dotted with colorful balloons are beautiful!

Night glow

The main street in town is taken over by the balloonists on Saturday evening. They line the streets with their balloons, lighting them up and making them glow in the streets.

The balloons begin getting setup around 5:30 pm and start to glow around 6:30 pm as it gets dark.

Lodging

You’ll want to stay in town for the whole weekend to have the best chance of seeing the balloons launch. Lodging books up a bit faster than usual over the weekend of the hot air balloon festival.

You’ll need to book more unique accommodations farther in advance, although we’ve never struggled to find a place to stay. Choose between beautiful retreats outside of town or stay in town to walk to shopping and restaurants. Below are our favorite spots to stay.

High end:

Sun Mountain Lodge

Located in the hills outside of town, this lodge is one of the most scenic in all of Washington. We love that there are snowshoe and XC ski trails on the property here.

Mid-range:

River’s Edge Resort

This resort has cabins along the river, with private hot tubs, right in the center of town. The festival’s “night glow” with the hot air balloons takes place right out in front of this resort. The only downside is that these cabins book up quickly!

Methow River Lodge and Cabins

This hotel is located within walking distance of town. Every room has a beautiful view of the river, and you’ll likely see deer grazing here in the morning.

Budget:

North Cascades Mountain Hostel

With options to stay in private rooms or shared dorms, this hostel is well-loved by PCT hikers and locals alike. It’s conveniently located near the main street in town, with plenty of parking.

Chewuch Inn and Cabins

Located a short distance outside town, guests say they love the quiet location and the breakfast included with the stay.

Hot air balloon rides

Flights costs between $350 - $400 per person and last between 60 and 75 minutes. Book with the Balloon Depot, Snohomish Balloon Ride, or Seattle Ballooning.

Other activities in Winthrop

By mid-morning the hot air balloon festivities will be wrapped up and you’ll have the whole day to enjoy. Aside from enjoying shops and restaurants in town, there are plenty of activities to keep you busy all weekend.

Methow trails: Fat biking, cross-country skiing, snowshoeing

There are over 120 miles of groomed trails in the Methow Valley! There are trails for every skill level, and this is where we tried (and loved) fatbiking for the first time. Find trail information here, and daily groomed reports on the app (Apple/Andriod).

Find equipment rentals in town here and he r e — both will have great advice on what trails will be right for you.

Skiing, snowboarding, luge sledding, and tubing

Drive 30 minutes outside of Winthrop to reach the Loup Loup Ski Bowl and a variety of activities. We’re keen to try the luge sledding — this is the only place in Washington that has it!

Ice skating

The Winthrop Ice Rink is just a short walk from downtown. Enjoy open skate times, drop-in hockey, and freestyle figure skating (figure skating is only available to those who have passed the Basic 4 LTS Certification).

Snowmobiling

Take a guided tour or rent equipment from Snowmobile Winthrop. We especially love that they offer a guided night ride and backcountry skiing access!

Sleigh rides

Head to the Sun Mountain Lodge for a romantic horse-driven sleigh ride overlooking Mt. Gardner. After, warm up with hot cocoa and cider!

Heli-skiing

If you’re more adventurous and an experienced backcountry skier, take a tour with North Cascade Heli for one-to-three-day trips ski tours. You’ll get as many ascents and descents as possible depending on your group’s adjectives and ability.

Winthrop Hot Air Balloon Festival