Short answer is yes, hot air balloons are safe. Safety is our highest priority. It’s so important in fact, we dedicated a full page to answer this question. Please visit SAFETY – for more information. Black Hills Balloons is one of the most established, safety-focused balloon companies in the United States. We have been making memories for 40 years and hope to continue the tradition for 40 more!
Immediately upon booking you will receive an email confirmation. This email will include your meeting time, place and what to expect for your flight.
The Day Before:
The evening before, you will receive a text and email to confirm weather status. If you did not receive the text or email by 6:30pm, please feel free to call.
The Day Of:
We will meet approximately a half-hour before sunrise – varying from 5-7:30am at the Black Hills Balloons Hangar, located at 747 Mt Rushmore Rd, Custer, SD – there is plenty of free parking on site. You’ll meet your pilot and crew, and travel to the launch site in one of our passenger vans. Upon arrival, our ground crew will unload the balloon and prepare the equipment for inflation. After a quick pilot-passenger briefing, the balloon will be ready to inflate. The inflation process takes approximately 20 minutes and when ready, your pilot will signal for you to jump in. Your flight over the hills will last approximately 1 hour (based on weather and available landing sites) while viewing gorgeous landscapes, and a beautiful Black Hills sunrise. Flight altitude varies daily, from treetops to a few thousand feet; allowing for the best views and steerage to the best available landing site. Upon landing, the balloon ground crew will quickly pack up the aircraft, while you and your pilot toast with champagne and the traditional Balloonists prayer.
We meet approximately a half-hour before sunrise. It can vary from 5:00 am to 7:30 am depending on the time of year; make sure you check your email or texts the evening before your flight.
Pilots meet passengers at the Black Hills Balloons Hangar, located at 747 Mt Rushmore Rd, Custer SD 57730. It is centrally located in the town of Custer, easy to find, with plenty of street parking nearby.
Custer is located just miles from Rapid City, Mount Rushmore National Monument, Crazy Horse Memorial, Wind Cave National Monument, and more. And just hours from South Dakota’s Badlands National Park, Wyoming’s Devils Tower National Monument, and other beautiful landmark locations. It’s a perfect home base for your Black Hills stay!
Flying in a hot air balloon is one of the best ways to witness the Black Hills! Our flying area is in Custer County, in the Southern Black Hills. The area is full of mountains, valleys, lakes, and prairies. And every flight is different! We often view local wildlife like elk, antelope, whitetail deer, buffalo, and mule deer, all while drifting gently alongside other colorful balloons. The beautiful Black Hills is the only place in the world where you can witness such a historic, wild landscape and abundant wildlife from a hot air balloon.
We’re also often asked if we can see the area’s Memorials and Monuments from the air – on a typical flight we catch a glimpse of Crazy Horse Memorial but rarely Mount Rushmore. Due to airspace restrictions, we aren’t allowed to fly in the area surrounding Mount Rushmore. It is also quite rugged around the Monument, so it’s not ideal for landing a hot air balloon. We recommend visiting Mount Rushmore National Memorial after the flight – order a scoop of their famous ice cream and spend some quality time in the museum. It’s a beautiful site and better viewed up-close, with a short walk along the Presidential Trail.
Not likely. Hot air balloons go with the wind so there is very little sensation of movement. If you close your eyes, the balloon can gain hundreds of feet in elevation without notice.
If you’re worried about heights or motion sickness, read our reviews on TripAdvisor/Google to hear from others who may have had the same concerns.
If you need to cancel or postpone your flight, we require 72 hours’ notice via phone or email. You will receive a full refund. If you do not provide sufficient notice or you do not show up for your scheduled flight, you will not receive a refund.
We wish! Ballooning is weather-dependent. Meaning, we only fly when the conditions are perfect for flight. If Mother Nature does not allow and we are forced to postpone your flight, it is only with your safety in mind. We have a 100% safety record and if in the opinion of our pilots, weather conditions are not suitable for safe flight operations, we will postpone your flight.
Because we want every opportunity to get you in the air, we recommend you provide a backup date when securing your reservation. Choosing a day early in your Black Hills visit will allow flexibility IF the weather does not cooperate on your scheduled day. If the weather forces us to cancel your flight and you are not able to re-book, your flight will be fully refundable.
Yes, of course! A hot air balloon is a federally registered aircraft, regulated by the FAA. Just like helicopters and different types of airplanes, hot air is its own classification of certification. Training, experience, and continued education is extremely important when it comes to properly flying a hot air balloon. Our pilots have YEARS of experience flying and take the responsibility very seriously.
Learn more about our pilots, and their legendary careers HERE.
Yes! If you are interested in flying outside of our standard season, please call us at 605-673-2520. Winter flights can be just as (or even more) stunning when the weather is right.
In addition to flying Summer flights for visitors and locals in the Black Hills area, our pilots are heavily involved in training new balloon pilots. We believe the success of the sport begins with new, well-trained pilots; actively taking on students, in-flight training, and organizing an annual safety seminar for surrounding pilots and crew. We can state proudly that we have participated in training nearly all the pilots in the immediate area, believing that training and continued education is important to our sport.
Additionally, BHB owners Keely and Damien are FAA certified repairmen under Prairie Sky Inc, providing maintenance and annual inspections to registered balloons across the state. If you are a balloon pilot looking for a repair station, please give us a call. We’re happy to assist.
