Fall Hot Air Balloon Ride Over Lancaster County

I celebrated Halloween this year gently floating through the skies of Lancaster County in a hot air balloon. This wonderful excursion was the capstone to my fall season, but it was a long time in the making.   

A few years ago, I purchased a balloon flight gift certificate as a Christmas present for a friend.  We had begun veering away from buying “things” as gifts and started sharing “experiences” instead. Since this was one of the items on her bucket list, it was a no brainer.  

Booking our flight

While there are several ballooning companies relatively close to central Pennsylvania, I selected The United States Hot Air Balloon Team.  They have been around for decades and had great Yelp reviews. 

The certificate I purchased offered the option of flights leaving from five different locations, although Hershey aka Chocolatetown, and Gettysburg departures weren’t available when we took our flight this year. The three remaining locations were:

• Bucks County – An hour and a half from New York City (NYC) with views of the Delaware Water Gap, the NYC skyline, and scenic views of the Bucks County countryside.

Chester County – This balloon flight features views of the rural countryside and distant views of the Philadelphia skyline.

Lancaster County – Billed as “one of the most popular flights,” departs from Bird-in-Hand and showcases beautiful Amish farmlands from the air.   

We had our hearts set on an evening flight – more on that late, but we choose Lancaster County as our departure site.  Hoping that we could visit local stores, the Lancaster Outlets, and grab a nice meal post flight. 

Assembling our ride

We arrived at the launch sight at 6:30 a.m.  While I don’t like being anywhere that early, the pre-dawn arrival provided a beautiful view of the “blue moon” as we waited for the four trucks carrying our flight equipment to arrive.  

While the total balloon experience was nearly three hours long, the ride itself lasted about 60 minutes.  Part of the experience included watching the four flight crews assemble the balloons.  Our crew consisted of four team members including the pilot/aeronaut.  When I saw them unload the basket, pictured above, it looked tiny.  Regardless, we comfortably managed fit in eight adults, the propane tanks and equipment, and the pilot.

After unloading the equipment, the crew attached a blower that circulates the hot air to the top of the basket.  Next came the unfurling and attachment of a huge balloon.   The entire assembly process took about 30 minutes.  Before we knew it, we climbed aboard, the ground crew took some photos, untethered the balloon and off we went.   

If you suffer from motion sickness, I recommend Dramamine as a precaution.  But honestly, the flight was nothing but smooth sailing.  As we lifted off the ground and ascended into the clouds, while I watched the ground rapidly moving further away, I didn’t feel anything.   There was no sensation of motion – we just freely glided up into the air.  It. Was. Amazing.

Up, up and away

Our aeronaut took us 4,000 feet in the air.  We were so far above ground level that it became hazy as we entered some cloud cover.  If you look way off in the distance you can see the Chesapeake Bay Watershed below.  The experience was beautiful, calm, and serene.  Our flight path carried us from Bird-in-Hand, to Intercourse, and eventually to Strasburg, Pennsylvania.    

After about 10 minutes at that altitude, our pilot lowered the balloon to about 400 feet and we gently floated over beautiful Amish farms and above a scenic countryside.   I’ve driven through Lancaster County countless times in the past, but this view was unique and stunning.  A few times during the flight, I looked down and saw us soaring over flocks of birds.  As we drifted along, I asked our pilot Stan Hess, how long he had been ballooning.  When he replied, “about 40 years,” any lingering safety concerns I had melted away.    

I purchased our gift certificate in 2017, and we were determined to schedule an evening flight in the fall to see the leaves and changing. Not taking note of the warning on the balloon company’s website that clearly stated that evening flights are cancelled more frequently due to weather-related issues. For obvious safety reasons, they do not fly in inclement weather. 

This led to us repeatedly rebooking our flight due to weather issues …for three years.  We finally wised up and booked a morning fight. Lesson learned.  But, it was so worth the wait.  Especially, since the rest of 2020, is, well, you know …   

Back on solid ground

When the flight was nearly over, Stan deftly guided us to a patch of grass beside a paved road on an Amish farm (in the lower right-hand corner of the photo above).  As he landed the balloon just before 9 a.m., the occupants of this farm, including their seven children came out to see what was happening.  The father and his two oldest sons pitched in to help anchor the balloon to the ground. Our ground crew, which I later learned had followed us in the van the entire flight, began deflating the balloon and disassembling it from the basket. 

It was heart-warming to see the delight on the children’s faces as this bizarre Saturday morning adventure unfolded on their quiet Pennsylvania Dutch farm.  Stan encouraged them to climb up the side of the basket for a better view inside. Everyone chatted until the balloon was safely packed away and the basket was back in the truck.  We bid thank-you and goodbye, climbed into the van and headed back to our departure location.  

It was a perfect day.  Back in Bird-in-Hand, feet safely on the ground, we enjoyed a champagne toast before heading home.  And while it wasn’t my Christmas gift, it was a gift to have experienced a familiar place in a totally new way.