The Birth of "Hot Air Camping"

Way back in the early 1980's, Winston "Pinky" Disbrow, the owner of Camp Waubeeka Family Campground (at that time) in Copake, NY made arrangements once a year for many local Hot Air Balloon Pilots to spend the weekend tenting and flying their balloons from his Campground Field.

A local pilot from Hudson, NY named Russ Barber was one of the original balloon pilots to participate in these events.  During one of his first years flying from Camp Waubeeka, Russ recruited a young camper to join his chase crew.  That young girl, Shelly, was immediately 'hooked' on ballooning, and continued to crew for Russ for many years to follow.

After a while, the Campground Balloon Festivals faded away... and seemed to be a thing of the past... until about 20 years later!

Fast-forward the 20+ years to 2004, when the Campground was then owned by a couple from Massachusettes, Paul and Kim, who were very receptive to new ideas to bring-in new visitors to the campground.  And that's where Shelly, now an adult, came-in... and offered the idea of a Balloon Festival Weekend, just like the campground did 20 year prior.

Paul and Kim were very interested, so Shelly made arrangements for 4-5 Hot Air Balloons to arrive one sunny summer weekend and fly from the campground field.  Among those pilots flying in this festival...  was Shelly's husband, Roger (a commercial balloon pilot)... and YUP... you guessed it... Russ Barber!!  Russ came back to the campground and flew his balloon from the exact same field he did 20+ years before... and the same field that he recruited Shelly to begin her balloon crewing career!

This 2004 Summer event was a huge hit, and the campground immediately made plans to continue the tradition for the years to come.  Shelly decided to hand off the festival planning to Steve Tuttle, a seasonal camper at Camp Waubeeka, also a Hot Air Balloon Pilot, who was trained by her husband, Roger. 

As a child, Steve camped at Waubeeka with his family for over 15 years.  He can vividly remember watching the balloons fly from the campground when "Pinky" hosted the festivals, and now, as a return seasonal camper, (as an adult with his own children), he finds it very enjoyable to see his two boys have the opportunity to create the same childhood memories as he did at their age.  And for this to happen in the same campground... on the same balloon field... makes it so much more nostalgic.

So that's how it originated!  And since Steve took over the festival planning in 2005, Camp Waubeeka has actually doubled the number of festivals each year.  There's now a large 'Balloon Fest' in June, including many balloons and special attractions.  Followed by another smaller-scaled festival in September, which is more of a relaxed, laid-back weekend, with simple flights to enjoy the fall foliage.

We encourage you to come join us for a weekend, and create some wonderful memories of your own! 

And if you happen to live down in the NJ/PA area, and it's too far of a trip to come up to Camp Waubeeka, we're now planning a third annual Balloon Festival at the Eagles Peak Campground in Robesonia, PA!