Hang Gliding at Tiger Mountain in Issaquah, Washington

Tiger Mountain sits just 30 minutes east of Seattle in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. The mountain has two popular hang gliding launch points where enthusiasts of the sport can soar over a tree-studded valley in view of the Cascades, the glaciers of Mount Rainier, glittering Lake Sammamish and the Seattle skyline. On good gliding days, clusters of colorful parachutes can be seen drifting from the mountain's summit.

The Mountain

• Tiger Mountain, part of the group of foothills called the Issaquah Alps, sits just off I-90 east of Seattle. The mountain is popular with hikers, horseback riders and joggers, who take to the many trails crisscrossing the Tiger Mountain State Forest. The mountain has two well-maintained launch sites for paragliders, a south launch with an elevation of 1,680 feet and a north launch with an elevation of 1,830 feet. Both areas are clear of trees and have bathrooms. The north launch, also called Poo Poo Point, has a wide strip of turf to ease the take-off process. A landing zone sits at the base of the mountain on Issaquah-Hobart road.

Weather and Safety

• Safely paragliding -- from any location -- requires a significant investment of equipment and knowledge. Equipment should be well maintained and thoroughly checked before each glide to further ensure safety. Paragliding anywhere in the United States without an instructor, including at Tiger Mountain, requires a Para 2 (solo) certification.

  The best time to fly at Tiger Mountain is in the afternoon. The mountain is flyable year round, assuming you find a clear day, but April to August are the best months for ideal conditions. In summer, thermaling is best from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. and glass-off from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Gliding can range from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on your experience and the conditions.

Lessons and Guides

• Several companies near Tiger Mountain offer paragliding lessons and tandem flying -- flying while harnessed with a professional guide who acts as the pilot. For either lessons or tandem flying, you need not have any prior experience or be in great physical shape. Paragliding is not physically demanding; it requires only that you be able to run 20 to 30 feet. Companies include Seattle Paragliding, Paraglide Washington and Parafly Paragliding. Most lessons and tandem flights include equipment, shuttle service and a session on safety and technique.

Where to Watch

• If you're interested in watching the paragliders, there is a broad berm at Poo Poo Point that's a perfect vantage point. You can choose from two hiking trails to access the area: the Chirico Trail and the Poo Poo Point Trail. The Chirico Trail is shorter, just 4.7 miles round trip, while the Poo Poo Point Trail is a more demanding 7.4-mile round trip trek. Both trails are easy to access from I-90 and pass through forest on their way to the point. There, hikers are treated to expansive views of Lake Sammamish and the Cascade Mountains. It's important that hikers stay out of the way of paragliders landing or taking off, and that they not walk on the turf strip.

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Hang Gliding Lessons in Los Angeles

From the myth of Icarus and the wings his father made for him to the Renaissance flying machine designs of Leonardo da Vinci, human beings have always dreamed of inventing ways to glide through the air. With the hang glider, these ancient dreams have come to fruition. Once considered dangerous, today’s expert instruction has minimized safety concerns of the past. In Los Angeles, where the sport of hang gliding began, there are numerous flight schools on the plentiful hills, mountains and sand dunes just waiting to teach you how to soar.

Do the Dune

• The sand dunes of Dockweiler Beach, adjacent to LAX, provide the perfect spot for first-timers to get their initial instructions in hang gliding. Operated by the 40-year veteran Windsports Hang Gliding, the Dockweiler Beach Hang Gliding Park is a 20-acre facility consisting of 30-foot high sand dune bluffs for launching and a wide, sandy beach to land on. Windsports offers three- to four-hour lessons at the park from Wednesday through Sunday that include pre-flight briefings, demonstrations and seven solo flights. During the first lessons, altitudes are kept at a minimum -- no more than 10 feet off the ground -- but potential pilots learn how to launch, control altitude and speed and how to land.

If Everyone Leapt Off a 3,500-Foot Cliff, Would You?

• For advanced mountain hang gliding, Windsports offers tandem lessons from the top of Kagel Mountain to a landing zone at its Sylmar Flight Park in the neighboring San Fernando Valley. The two- to three-hour lessons include a 45-minute drive to the peak of Kagel Mountain, 20 minutes of setup time where students help assemble their hang glider, 20-minutes of pre-flight briefing followed by 10 to 30 minutes of flying with a qualified instructor. During the descent from the 3,500 feet launch point to the grassy landing strip two miles away, instructors demonstrate basic flight controls while giving students the opportunity to test them out.

10,000 Flights Later...

• Training on low-level hills and tandem flying lessons from higher elevations are offered by the High Adventure Team at the Andy Jackson Airpark in San Bernardino. Started as a husband and wife endeavor in the 1980s, the High Adventure team has since conducted over 10,000 successful tandem training flights. They now offer personalized instruction and tandem flight lessons from the high perches of Crestline’s Marshall Peak to the specially constructed landing zone at Andy Jackson Airpark below.

Soaring Above Santa Barbara

• Students will fly from 50 to 100 feet in the air on their first day of instruction with Fly Away, a Santa Barbara company operating in the coastal foothills 90 miles north of L.A. At Fly Away, students learn basic controls in a simulator and how to run holding onto a hang glider before taking to the air. Many flights follow during the three- to four-hour instruction period. Fly Away provides all the necessary equipment needed for hang gliding. One- to two-hour tandem mountain flight lessons, weather permitting, are also available.

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Hang Gliding in Cape Lookout, Oregon

Located only a couple hours west of Portland, Oregon, Cape Lookout State Park provides many options for outdoor recreation. For the adventurous, the cliffs of the cape make an ideal spot for hang gliding. With a bit of planning and the right weather conditions, you can spend a day soaring with the birds and taking in the views along the Pacific Ocean at this scenic hang gliding location.

Sticking to the Rules

• You don't need a permit to hang glide in Oregon, but you will need to purchase a day-use pass to use the launch area above Cape Lookout's beach or to park at the other launching point at Anderson's Lookout. Before you start flying, make certain you have the skills and the right weather conditions to allow yourself to land on the beach. If you land in the campground, you can face a fine. If you plan on camping at the park or staying in one of the fully-furnished cabins, you'll need to make a reservation to guarantee a spot.

Observing the Scenery

• Cape Lookout State Park is part of the Three Cape Scenic Loop along the Oregon coast, with Cape Lookout being the second of the three. Looking north while in the air, you'll see a long sand spit that separates the Pacific from Netarts Bay. Slightly further north, you can see another spit that once held the resort community of Bay Ocean -- abandoned in 1953 after the ocean had steadily swept away the sand foundations of the buildings. Near the spit is cape Meares, another headland of the scenic route. To the south, you may see dinghies and surfers sharing the waters of Pacific City. On clear days, you should be able to see Cape Kiwanda, the third cape of the scenic loop. In addition to the sights of the land formations, you may be able to glimpse migrating whales, sea birds, sea lions and seals lounging on the spits.
• Knowing the Conditions

• To stay safely aloft, you want to visit the cape when wind speeds are a mild 8 to 10 miles per hour. You also want to ensure you can land on the beach at the main area of the park, not the beach farther south. The main beach has easy access to the day-use parking lot; the southern beach will require a two-mile, uphill hike to the trailhead parking area for Cape Lookout's hiking paths. The prevailing wind along the coast at Cape Lookout comes from the north, but ocean currents and offshore storms can bring winds hurtling from the west or south. Due to the ever-changing nature of coastal weather, the conditions at Cape Lookout can shift at any moment. Be sure to check the forecast and be aware of the signs of changing conditions -- especially if you're unfamiliar with the weather along the Oregon coast.

Taking a Lesson

• If you've never gone hang gliding before and the sight of people soaring over your head tempts you to try it out, several schools within the vicinity of Cape Lookout can give you a taste for the sport. You won't be jumping off cliffs on your first lesson, or for your first several lessons. Instead, you'll hit the beach and practice catching wind and working with the equipment. To be safe, take lessons only from licensed instructors.

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