Thinking about trying to see one of the mass liftoffs at festival. Is it possible to see them without going to the festival grounds? In what direction do the balloons usually travel? Any thoughts on where to camp outside or on the edge of the city where we might be able to see the a liftoff? Thanks in advance.

TTT

I was in ABQ a few years ago during the Balloon Festival and stayed at the Windham hotel right by the airport. I wasn't there for the festival though, and only saw what I could from my hotel and from town. The hotel is several stories tall and I had a room facing away from the airport. From my balcony, I was able to see quite a bit. The festival grounds were north of there and I believe the wind currents create a box where the balloons can travel south in a certain altitude band, assend higher and then travel back north in a different altitude band. I bet there is a website for the festival with this type of information and it's probably more accurate than my memory.

hello gmin, me and my wife are from toledo and are going to the balloon festival for the first time but have gone to many smaller balloon festivals, if you can get within a mile or two from where they launch, you should be able to see a lot

When you're in ABQ at Festival time it's almost impossible not to see the balloons - they're everywhere in the sky. Liftoffs are at sunrise and sunset (assuming the weather is favorable) because that's when the air currents are best for balloons. The direction of travel is determined by the wind direction at the time, and even the balloonists don't know until liftoff time, or close to it, which way they'll be going.
You really should try to get to the Fiesta grounds, though. It's so much fun. The traffic can be a pain, but it's worth it if you can get there. You won't see anything like it anywhere else. We did a balloon ride a few years ago and the sight of several hundred balloons all lifting off at the same time was fantastic. Seeing them in the air isn't nearly as magical.

You must see the Balloon Glow at night. I thought that was the best part of the festival. Walking around on the grounds, meeting all the people; and then blowing up all the balloons - firing them up at night and being on the grounds and a hundreds of balloons with blinking lights - it was exciting.

We parked at a mall, and took the shuttle bus to the park.