The Great Reno Balloon Race

Reno Endears Itself Again,
This Time With a Balloon Race

Reno is to Las Vegas as Canada is to the United States: it’s the road not taken by the larger counterpart. If Vegas, like The U.S., is larger than life, with its name always outlined in bright lights, Reno has the slower, less hectic, less self-absorbed mien of a Canada.

Of course, like Canada, Reno has its legions of fans. While the gambling there doesn’t quite reach the epic razzle-dazzle of Las Vegas’ version, it’s still conducted in some of the most beautiful casinos in the country. And Reno’s high-desert location doesn’t hurt either – while Vegas swelters in 112-degree days, Reno is often 15 to 20 degrees cooler.

Looking down on the balloons at Rancho San Rafael Park.

You can find some relief in Vegas if you’re willing to drive the 35 miles northwest to Charleston Peak. The pine-covered mountain, a low-tech ski center in winter, surprises visitors with its cool contrast to the hot landscape below. In Reno, a 10-minute ride will take you into the Sierra Nevada’s shady forests. A 40-minute ride will take you to Lake Tahoe, which offers both the sublime beauty of America’s most famous mountain lake and the amenities of full-service resorts and gambling.

There’s more: Reno also hosts a late-summer balloon festival that has become renowned both for the number of balloons it draws (this year they’ll number 125) and its low-cost, family-oriented nature. This year the 20^th Annual Great Reno Balloon Race will take place the weekend of September 7-9 at Reno’s Rancho San Rafael Park. The only fee for watching the event is a $5 parking charge at a close-in Rotary Club lot.

Rising against a backdrop of downtown Reno and the nearby Sierra Nevada, balloons soar in the early morning light.

Highlights of the Great Reno Balloon Race include the daily Mass Ascension, when more than 100 balloons ascend at 6:30 a.m., their bright patterns and colors suffused in dense morning light. Even more popular is the Dawn Patrol, a pre-dawn ascension that puts pilots’ balloon-handling skills to a strong test, then rewards spectators by making the balloons seem to flame into existence as the sudden rays of the rising sun catch them in mid-flight.

The race’s organizers have put together a very informational web site at http://www.renoballoon.com/ (although the body type could be a touch bigger for those of us over 40).

— Patrick Totty