Wouldn’t being in a hot air balloon to sight-see some of the most amazing places in Canada be enthralling? At first, it may sound a bit dicey and dreary to just pass through the horizons and view the cities but it is alluring to experience that.
Several licensed operators around the country can help you to take the heavenly ride and reach the clouds. Below are a few of them.
1. Kiss the Sky Balloons (Lethbridge, Alberta)
A hot air balloon experience is one of a kind. Unlike in an airplane where you find yourself moving away from the ground, a hot air balloon would make you realize that the ground is moving away from you. With almost no acceleration felt, Kiss the Sky Balloons in Alberta lets you enjoy the time of your life and scout the area around Lethbridge. The experience will make you realize why Alberta is the Big Sky country.
2. Balloons Aloft (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
Due to the favorable conditions that the prairie winds provide, Winnipeg makes an ideal location for hot air balloon rides. The Balloons Aloft takes the initiative to get the party going by giving their customers a smooth and serene ride through the clouds and on the fulfillment of such a ask the customers enjoy a good and refreshing champagne toast after the incredible ride through the clouds to the outskirts of Manitoba’s capital. This is the everlasting ritual of the first French balloonists who packed a bottle of wine as an offering from them to the farmers when they landed on their lands.
3. Ottawa Hot Air (Ottawa, Ontario)
The Ottawa Hot Air’s reputation precedes itself. They have been humbly accepting requests and letting people on their dream ride in the hot air balloon for more than 35 years. It is generally a pack of 4 people that can get on the balloon. At sunrise, you are to get on the balloon about an hour east of downtown because that’s where the launch site is. After you step in the balloon you will experience something surreal about rides and adventures when you sight-see the rural Ontario through the sky. It is gorgeous and magnificent from up there. They even offer lessons on how to pilot the balloon if you become interested.
4. Sundance Balloons (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan)
The South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon is the reason why the city is called the city of bridges and what better way to get a tour of the place on a hot air balloon? Sundance Balloons gives you the chance to ride through the clouds and unravel the mystifying adventure of hot air balloon rides. The balloon not only towers a story high but also has several other operations in cities like Toronto, Edmonton Grande Prairie, and Regina, etc. this hot air balloon experience will make you realize just why Saskatoon is called the city of bridges.
5. Ontario Balloon Rides (Kitchener, Ontario)
Step on one of their many launch sites in the fields around Kitchener where you can experience everything you have ever dreamt of about hot air balloon rides. The Ontario Balloon Rides is one of the many licensed operators that make a mere person’s dreams come true when it comes to aerial journeys. But as every cloud has a silver lining, on the contrary over here, balloon rides are always weather dependent. So if it’s stormy weather or one of those dry scorching days, there is not much that you can do against Mother Nature because, in the end, it’s the wind that carries the balloon from one point to another.
Hot air balloon festivals across Canada
A hot air balloon ride has a whole other side to it. Unlike the experience of being in one, if you have the case of vertigo and can’t experience such a ride you can always join the festivals held across Canada regarding hot air balloons where pilots gather around with their craft in an incredible display so that you can admire it from the ground. Below are some dates and locations to enjoy being there:
Atlantic Balloon Festival (Sussex, New Brunswick) – September 7-8, 2019
Festival de Montgolfière de Gatineau (Gatineau, Quebec) – August 29 to September 2, 2019
Heritage Inn International Balloon Festival (High River, Alberta) – September 25-29, 2019
International de Montgolfières (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec) – August 10 to 18, 2019
