Tethered Hot-Air Balloon Rides

There are no balloon rides in 2026. The tethered hot-air balloon rides were a one-off in 2025 and made Davis history: it had never been done here before. We are keeping the photographs on the site because it was one of the best things this festival has ever done, but it is not returning this year.

See the 2025 balloon gallery.

In 2025, the festival did something no Davis event had ever done: FREE tethered hot-air balloon rides, powered by the Davis Food Co-op, in a glorious zombie-green envelope operated by Sky Drifters Hot Air Ballooning of Rancho Murieta. Weather pushed the debut from its planned Saturday date to the following Saturday, and demand was high enough that some guests lined up as early as 5 am.

Riders ages roughly 5 and up get a turn in the tethered basket, first come first served, while NorCal Trykers typically uses the same morning to fit local kids with new adaptive tricycles right on the lawn. Even guests who do not get a seat in the basket are usually invited up to pull the burner flame.

The setting

Rides take place at the Davis Cemetery & Arboretum District, a Level II Arboretum with more than 150 species of trees, founded in 1855 and one of the festival's earliest sponsors. Watching a glowing green balloon rise over headstones and arboretum oaks on a crisp morning is, by most accounts, unlike anything else on the festival calendar, part solemn setting, part pure spectacle.

Tips

• This is the festival's most weather-dependent attraction; confirm the date close to the event.
• Arrive early. In 2025, the line started forming before sunrise.
• Raffle prizes are typically handed out to guests whether or not they get a ride.
• Anyone who misses a ride can usually email the festival to be prioritized the following year.