Tandem Jump in Connecticut

Connecticut packs a lot of scenery under a short freefall. Exit over one of the state's drop zones and the ground reads like a New England sampler: the long silver line of Long Island Sound, a crimped coastline, and the Connecticut River cutting through it all. Because the state is compact, the view shifts fast, river-valley towns give way to forested hills before your canopy is even fully open.

For a first jump, tandem skydiving here is about as approachable as it gets. Drop zones run new jumpers through a thorough ground briefing, then hand the technical work to a trained instructor so you can just take in the view. Once you're out the door, the geography opens up, the mosaic of farmland, the ridgelines of the Berkshire foothills off in the distance.