Skydiving over water seems to be on top of many bucket lists – at least the ones penned by adventurous travelers.
Now, visitors to the Lake Tahoe area can jump over both the water and the mountains of this beautiful alpine lake and cross that item off for good.
Skydive Lake Tahoe offers tandem skydives over Lake Tahoe, as well as other areas around the Sierra Nevada.
During your free fall with Skydive Lake Tahoe, enjoy 360-degree views of the entire area — Photo courtesy of Skydive Lake Tahoe
The Cessna flights (designed just for skydiving) take off from the small town of Minden near Carson City, Nev., and fly passengers up over 12,000 feet above Lake Tahoe!
Each passenger – attached securely to a certified tandem skydive instructor – then free falls for over a minute before the parachute deploys at 5,500 feet and lands them safely back on the ground in various places around the lake.
The parachute ride to the ground lasts about five minutes, and jumpers catch 360-degree views of the entire area on their way down, seeing for miles in all directions.
During the jump, passengers can see Lake Tahoe, Desolation Wilderness, Carson Valley and Washoe Valley on the east side of the Sierra Nevada range.
Passengers can see Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada during their trip — Photo courtesy of Skydive Lake Tahoe
Each passenger/jumper is required to go through safety training before each jump. They can also order photos and videos of their plane ride, the jump and their reactions after their skydive.
Non-jumping family members are allowed to watch from the landing zone. Binoculars are recommended. If you're lucky, you may even get a chance to watch a few professionals jump from the plane as well – without a tandem instructor.
Watch close, because the jumpers are moving fast. Passengers and their partners can reach speeds of up to 120 miles per hour!
Passengers get partnered up with professional tandem instructors to ensure a safe flight — Photo courtesy of Skydive Lake Tahoe
Skydive Lake Tahoe's prices are reasonable, as well. For a Tandem Skydive Certificate jump, the cost is only $210 per person. You can pay an extra $70 for photos or videos or combine the two for only $120.
Skydive Lake Tahoe is open all year long (weather permitting), but only on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
On the way back to Lake Tahoe from Minden, grab a beer at the Genoa Bar in the nearby town of Genoa (the oldest town in Nevada), and calm your nerves at David Walley's 1862 hot springs just down the street.
Dinner can be had at the resort or at La Ferme in Genoa. Or you can take Kingsbury Grade back up to South Lake Tahoe and have dinner at the Gunbarrel Tavern at Heavenly Mountain or at one of the casinos like Montbleu Hotel & Casino at Stateline in Nevada.
Skydive Lake Tahoe takes adventurous travelers to new heights — Photo courtesy of Skydive Lake Tahoe
