My Skydiving Adventure in California
As an avid aficionado of extreme sports and aviation, I have always wanted to take the leap and experience falling free through the air at 120 mph. Skydiving is one of those experiences I think that everyone should try at least once in their lifetime.
During my latest trip to California, a haven for skydiving, I took the opportunity and ticket this exhilarating experience off of my bucket list. As a lover of off the beaten path destinations and experiences, I found a drop zone in a very unique location. Tucked between the desert park Joshua Tree and the mountainous regions of Big Bear and San Jacinto lies Skydive West Coast. This location offered majestic scenery, and with experienced instructors with countless years in the parachute industry, I immediately knew this is where I wanted to skydive.
The dropzone was easily reached from Downtown Los Angeles, where I was currently staying. Palm Springs, which was my next destination after Los Angeles, was only a 30-minute drive away. Other nearby locations include Coachella and San Bernardino, which are all within a 30-50 mile distance.
Upon my arrival, I and the other jumpers watched a video and then went through a safety briefing, after which we were fitted into our harnesses. Within what felt like only minutes, we boarded the plane – a small and utterly charming Cessna. This was one of the smallest planes I have flown on. In fact, there was just enough room for the friendly pilot and two excited jumpers. I was sitting with my knees up against my chest, facing the side windows and admiring the views of the minuscule specks of cacti in Joshua Tree as we picked up altitude. The small size of the aircraft only added to the excitement, as the plane shook and trembled as it soared over the mountains.
When we had gained enough jump altitude, I helped pull the doors to the plane open and could immediately feel the wind bellowing through. It was time to get into position and I remember feeling in awe and didn’t want the moment to end. In fact, I could have easily sat there on the ledge for ever and ever, as I unquestionably enjoyed the swarm of butterflies that were fluttering in my tummy.
As I leapt out of the plane, a feeling of spine-tingling exhilaration hit me. I was free falling for 120 miles an hour, soaring above roughed terrain, with breathtaking vistas of Joshua Tree, the dunes, mountains and desert sand. It was a surreal experience.
The parachute was deployed and I went from plummeting through the air at freefall speeds to slowly sailing above the beautiful landscape under the canopy.
Close to the ground, I came to a gentle glide into the landing zone and as soon as my feet hit the ground, I immediately felt that I wanted to do this again and asked myself how soon I could be up amongst the clouds again.
If you are heading to the Los Angeles area and are looking for an unparalleled experience, look no further. There are skydiving drop zones dotted all over the world, but the location of Skydive Westcoast was stunningly beautiful, which naturally added to the experience. The instructors, Tanya and Robbie, were knowledgeable, had previously performed thousands of skydives, but above all, you could immediately tell they were truly passionate about the sport. They made you feel at ease and at no point did I ever feel anxious. Skydiving is most likely the closest that I will ever come to flying freely, and for anyone who has ever dreamt of flying, I could not recommend this unbelievable experience enough.
What is your number one bucket-list adventure? Share your stories in the comments section.
20 Comments
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ohmummymia
wow how amazing. My husband dreams about that kind of adventure. what a lovely views from the sky
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Melissa
OMG, this makes me nervous just reading about it. I want to skydive so bad, but I don’t know if I could ever work up the courage. The views are just beautiful and it must be something to experience once you start falling. I think having a guide that has done it thousands of times would definitely help a little bit.
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Nish
I’m feeling slightly nauseous just reading through your post. I am a nervous flier, and then add jumping off a plane to the list! Scares me to my bones. Do you have to manually open your parachute? How does that work? Are there practice jumps before you jump off a plane?
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Debjani lahiri
Your post was literally giving me goosebumps while reading it . I have always wondered whether you can choose the drop zones of your choice from the point of getting dropped .. Like if it is possible. I have been meaning to do it since the time I started taking up various adventure activities as part of my travels. And yes, the feeling when you soar up in the sky for a while like a bird is unparalleled. I can totally imagine the excitement which gushes in.
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Tara Pittman
My middle son wants to do this. The virus canceled his opportunity but hopefully next summer he can do an internship with the military.
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Amber Myers
Eek! I’m too nervous to do this. I’m glad you had fun. I can see my daughter skydiving at some point though.
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Chris (Punta Cana Travel Blog)
Wow, what an adventure.Not sure if I could do it …
What I am wondering: you said that you had a great view of the rough terrain of Joshua Tree National Park. Do you really realize the view when falling with 120 mph? I think I would be so overwhelmed by the feeling and influences on my body that I couldn’t remember what I see when falling … 😉 -
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Raksha
Sky diving is truly an adventurous and amazing experience. It’s so awesome that you did it in California. I will need to add that to my list. I have sky dived twice, once in Australia Great Ocean Road and the second time at Hawaii. I thoroughly enjoyed the Hawaii one as the views from the plane was absolutely amazing.
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emma
OMG WOW! I have always wanted to do a sky dive and now im even more inclined to! This looks amazing. However, when we flew over the grand canyon we went in a small plane like this and I thought we were going to crash the whole time as it wobbled about so much lol! I don’t know if I will ever be brave e ought to make the jump but I enjoyed this post so much. The photos look incredible too and that view! wow
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Manjulika Pramod
What an adventure! Very well done. The way you have described it, I am sure you were not scared much. I am glad you had such a wonderful experience. I definitely cant do this. That swarm of butterfly feeling on the edge will not let me take that dive. I wish I could dare and be brave like the adventure freaks.
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Latte Lindsay
This looks amazing but I think I would be a big chicken and not jump! 😀
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WorldInEyes
Skydiving is really very interesting one to do.. i haven’t did it yet but have a desire to do once…well it seems like you really had enjoyed it too..Thanks indeed for sharing…
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Arnav Mathur
What a delightful and exhilarating experience it must have been. I also so want to do sky diving, but haven’t yet been able to tick it off my list. No wonder you had a mind-blowing experience, the picture say it all. That scenery – Just Wow.
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Mike
Love this post. Brings me back to my first (and hopefully not last) skydive a few years back. Thanks for bring back the flood of emotions!
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Val
Skydiving has been on my wishlist for so long, but I haven’t found the courage to do it yet! Reading this and looking at your beautiful photos took me there with you. What a fantastic experience you had, I think I’m gonna look into skydiving spots for my next adventure now… 😀
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Yukti Agrawal
You are really brave to do this as I always feel scared for going to sky diving. But then I think, I missed so many beautiful aerial views due to my nervousness. You really had breathtaking vistas of Joshua Tree, the dunes, mountains and desert sand. Your post now gives me little strength to try out skydive and would really check it when I visit Los Angeles.
Linda (LD Holland)
This post brought back good memories. I definitely remember my first skydive. But then I kept going until I did 150 jumps! I helped out at the dive site. And many people just jumped once to tick it off the list. I am glad you found a great spot to try this. Love when there is great scenery for your ride down.