Tandem Jump in Vermont

From jump altitude over Vermont, the Green Mountains run north to south in a single unbroken ridge, and Lake Champlain widens out along the western edge like a sheet of hammered pewter. The land below is mostly farms and small towns (Middlebury, Milton), the kind of tidy rural grid that makes a freefall feel like it's happening over a model railroad. What changes most is the color. A jump in July drops you over deep summer green; the same exit in early October drops you over a valley on fire with foliage.

Tandem is how nearly everyone starts here. You're harnessed to an instructor who has done this thousands of times, the ground briefing is short, and there's no coursework standing between you and the door of the plane. Drop zones in the Champlain Valley make the most of the clear air and open sightlines, on a good day you can pick out the Adirondacks across the lake in New York while the canopy carries you down. For a first jump, the combination of low commitment and big scenery is hard to beat.