Skydiving

From 10,000 feet in the skies over Maine you can see from the blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the dark green forests surrounding the mile-high granite monolith of Mount Katahdin. And that’s where you’ll begin your skydiving adventure, an adrenalin-packed experience that’s hard to explain until you’ve done it.

Tethered safely to a professional instructor you’ll step out of the plane in tandem for an eye-popping 40-second free fall, feeling the rush of the wind and the unique sensation of diving down through the air. Then the rip cord gets pulled and you’ll enjoy a lazy 5 to 10 minute parachute ride before stepping down onto terra firma again.

Your Maine skydiving experience typically takes two hours. The outfitter will orient you to the sport and train you in the basics of the jump and the landing. Then you’ll change into a jumpsuit and harness and take off in a small-engine plane for a 30-minute flight over Maine’s beautiful country landscape. Your instructor wears the parachute, and in-flight you’ll discuss final preparations and get strapped comfortably together.

The real fun begins when you dive out the door and start falling toward Earth! The time flies by fast and it’s not until the parachute slows your descent to a float that you truly realize what’s just happened. Many Maine skydiving enthusiasts call it the ultimate rush and that happy look on your face a “perma-grin,” a look no doubt captured on the video of your exciting ride through the skies!

Skydiving is a sport suitable for the adventurous of all ages. But even if it’s not for you, bring a picnic lunch and some folding chairs and watch the fun from below. Skydiving makes a great spectator sport!