Winthrop Hot Air Balloon Festival

The Winthrop Balloon Roundup Festival is an event that started in the ‘90s and now usually takes place in early March of each year.  It is free for spectators (this is what we did), but you can make a reservation for an actual hot air balloon ride in advance if you so desire!  Read on for how we planned a weekend getaway around this event, and combined it with some trail time and other Methow Valley gems.  Note that for planning purposes, we did this in March of 2026.

Winthrop is a historic, Old-West themed small town along the North Cascades Highway that is a perfect base for a plethora of outdoor recreation in any season.  It is a 4 hour drive from Seattle, so we recommend spending at least a weekend (or longer) here, rather than a day trip.  There are many restaurants and shops throughout walkable Winthrop that visitors of all ages can enjoy. 

Details for the Balloon Festival on the event website can be found here, but it is usually a 3-day event (from Friday through Sunday). We missed the Friday balloons due to our late arrival, but were able to see the balloons on Saturday morning.

For lodging: we booked a cabin at Idle-a-While in the nearby town of Twisp.  We found that booking directly through their website was more cost effective than booking through their Airbnb listings.  This was a small, no-frills, nothing-fancy cabin off of the highway within walking distance of all things Twisp, but a 15 minute drive south of the town of Winthrop.  Due to the Balloon Festival, prices seemed slightly inflated for Airbnb, VRBO and local hotels/motels. 

Saturday morning balloon launch

The Saturday morning balloon launch started at 6:45am behind the Winthrop Inn, but we wanted to view the balloons from a higher vantage point for our landscape photography. 

We scouted out this ideal spot along the Meadowlark Loop Trail, but learned upon arrival that the area was closed for restoration and mule deer migration. So, the next best option seemed to be along the Twisp-Winthrop Eastside Road. This is on the other side of the Methow River with a direct view of the launch site. There are a few spots along the road for cars to pull over and park.  The road was not busy and there was ample room along the shoulder to park, so we felt safe walking around and taking photos.

We also drove to the Methow Valley Ranger Station on the other side of town for a different perspective. This is on the north end of town. There is a large parking lot here with a view overlooking the entire town of Winthrop.  The following images are from this viewpoint.

Previous blogs and the event website state up to 20 balloons are usually in the air, but the balloonists decide the morning of the launch as to whether or not they will fly based on weather conditions.  We saw fewer than 10 balloons and were not sure why as conditions seemed ideal and clear with minimal winds. 

We have also attended other balloon festivals elsewhere (Reno, NV and Gallup, NM) – for comparison, at these larger events, huge fleets of balloons ascend simultaneously – quite the spectacle.  Here in Winthrop however, there is simply not as much space and it is a much smaller scale event, so only 1 to 2 balloons launch at once. 

Nevertheless, the colorful balloons floating along a gorgeous, snowy, mountain winterscape is a beautiful sight to see on a crisp Saturday morning.  

The balloons stayed up in the air until 9am, so once we were satisfied with our camera rolls, we decided to drive 20 minutes north to the famous Mazama Store & Bakery.  This was a highlight of our trip – the breakfast bagel sandwiches and pastries were so delicious!  We also purchased sandwiches to-go for our lunch on the trail – these were also very tasty.

Our original goal for the remainder of the day was to snowshoe, but unfortunately the winter of 2026 was a mild one and there was barely any snow!  We went to the ski shop at Sun Mountain Lodge to inquire about conditions and only a few cross country ski trails were open, and none of the snowshoe trails were.  

If you are lucky enough to get snow, check out Methow Trails for all the details and maps for trails in the Methow Valley.  The trails around Mazama would have been ideal since we were at the Mazama Bakery, but we decided to stay near Winthrop and check out the Sun Mountain trail system instead. You’ll need to purchase a trail pass for trail access (option to do so online or in person).

Patterson Mountain

In lieu of snowshoeing, we hiked Patterson Mountain within the Sun Mountain trail system.

You’ll need a Discover Pass to park at the trailhead by the boat launch.  The trailhead has ample parking, a vault toilet and lake access. The trail starts across the road from the parking lot. 

This is a dog-friendly, moderate, 4 mile lollipop trail that takes you to the summit of Patterson Mountain with incredible views.  

Half of the hike was slushy and snowy as it was in the shade, but we didn’t need microspikes or snowshoes.  There is one small creek crossing and a fence with a small ladder to climb over on the Northern part of the loop, but we were able to navigate these easily, including lifting our 45 lb dog over the small ladder.  

On Saturday evening, the Balloon Night Glow takes place in downtown Winthrop

Here, the balloons were inflated (but did not launch) and the town was bustling with spectators.  This was the most crowded event thus far. We parked at the Winthrop Barn Auditorium nearby.

• The Methow Valley Ciderhouse is also a short walk from the Winthrop Barn Auditorium and has delicious local ciders!  Our favorite was the Eternal Sunshine Pineapple Mango cider by Endless Orchard in nearby Chelan. 

On Sunday, the balloons were set to launch again in the morning

We walked around downtown Winthrop (Susie Stephens Trail) & also drove to the Methow Valley Ranger Station again but never saw any balloons.  The weather conditions were not as great on this day, so the balloonists likely decided to opt out of flying.  We also toyed with the idea of another trail (Lewis Butte or Pearrygin Lake State Park) but ran out of time, but these may be great alternatives for a future trip!

Before driving home for the weekend, we made another stop at Mazama Bakery for their delicious Sea Salt Baguettes (we could not stop raving about how one could even bake a baguette so wonderfully and deeply regretted not buying six more loaves to bring home), more pastries and hot drinks.  

Overall, this was a cute, family-friendly event that gave us the opportunity to explore the Methow Valley and the charming mountain town of Winthrop. 

Happy Adventuring! For more of our favorite trail recommendations in the North Cascades, check out our complete guide here.