Scootergirl

Husband and I want to visit the Hot Air Balloon Festival the first week in October 2019, and do some hiking. If you only had 7 days for the state, where are your top suggestions for hiking? We would be flying into Albuquerque, on a Friday and fly out the following Saturday. Would you hike first, then go to the festival 1 or 2 days during the week, and then hike again? Thinking when it would be slightly less crowded. Would you go south to White Sands? What are the temperatures like in October? Any suggestions would be wonderful. Thank you in advance.

emalloy

I would head up to Bandelier National Monument and also visit the area that is about 5 miles closer to Santa Fe called Tsankawi which is less developed. You also could hike in Tent Rocks, between Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

One year at that time we were lucky to see elk in rut at Valles Caldera. There were pull offs and folks were watching from near the road. It was awesome to see the males herding up the females and bellowing at the challengers.

Scootergirl

Thank you for that advice.

tomfuller

Take the gondola ride up Sandia Peak at the east end of town and then hike down. There are some places to hike west of town to see the petroglyphs. There are special bus routes to get you to/from the Balloon Festival. Don't try to drive and park.

Scootergirl

I booked the Best Western on Pan American Expressway, about 5 miles from the festival, but when I spoke to them, they said there were no buses running from there to the festival. How do I find out about the bus routes?

Melnq8

This is from last year, but it will give you an idea:

https://balloonfiesta.com/guest-guide/park-ride

https://www.cabq.gov/fall/fun/balloo...ta-information

https://www.balloonfiesta.com/