Mile-Hi Skydiving Center

This is (by far) the closest DZ to where I live. The people there are really nice and I have had no trouble jumping with other people as a fun jumper (but also I'm a girl and I know that makes it easier).

I'm a bit put off by the way everything is cash (jumps? cash or pay a hefty card fee. Pack job? Cash straight to the packer); I tried to buy a rig that they had on consignment and they requested that I pay in cash (they wanted me to bring $4000 worth of literal cash to the dz???).

Lastly, I really don't like the lack of concern for safety. There is no DZSO, I've seen someone straight out of A-license decide to downsize without consulting a coach/instructor, I don't think anyone counts canopies as they land.

You are literally nickled and dimed over every single thing. Jumps are $28 if you have cash extra for card. Rigging and coaching are also way over priced. You are a second rate citizen if you are not a tandem, for example if there is are no chairs left and tandems are standing skydivers will be forced to give up there seats. Just ridicules!

It has the nickname Mile High School for a reason. The people who are regulars are clicky and shallow. If you owe beer they only accept expensive craft beer. Constant gossip and who slept with who bs is everywhere. There are good people there I think they just don't know better but they are about 10% of the people.

I have jumped at Mile Hi many times over the past 20 years. Any drop zone is what you make of it. Great if you want it to be, but if you're a wallflower you will be ignored. Best aircraft around and I'm grateful they are there when other DZ s have come and gone





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I have been jumping at this DZ for a little while now and barely know anyone. People only jump with people they know are good. If you are a fun jumper good luck getting on a load there are typically 2 hour waits to get on a load. They do have fast planes and the staff is very friendly... well most of them. There is a new rule every weekend you must follow. It is a great place to jump during the week but on the weekend if you want to hang out and get to know the jumpers or if you want to be appreciated as a fun jumper then go south. You will feel much more welcome at other DZs.

I just popped in to Mile-Hi today for 3 jumps whilst travelling through Denver. Warmly welcomed with a quick gear check, brief and a reasonably sized waiver (!). Friendly bunch of jumpers with a strong wingsuit group (big BASE community).

Jumped on a hop'n'pop load and was pleased to see everyone doing a pin check in the plane. I was also stopped later in the day when I went to manifest for a wingsuit jump and they have a great system of helmet stickers to make sure that an instructor has checked someone out before they jump camera/wingsuit. Something we could do with more of I think - and it's not red tape it's focussed on making sure that you have the skills to do the jump safely. One of the best safety culture I have seen in the US DZs I have visited.

Huge landing area but you need to be careful - it's at 5,000 feet and the landings are FAST. A few practice flares on your first jump there a good idea.

They have a twin otter and (up to) 2 Super King Airs. The tandems tend to be on the King Air which gives nice separation between fun jumpers and tandems. Particularly good for the wingsuit groups.

About 40 minutes from Denver airport - but a bit out of town. Jump tickets are around $25 but package deals available. Definitely recommended.

Aircraft are super nice after you pay the exobanate lift price, ride a trailer all the way around the airport on a dry dirt road then stand under the limited shade. This DZ is very much about business, the vibe really is flat. If you are not a local or with your own group, hope you like to jump alone and get ignored at every step, from manifest to landing. (and oh ya the trailer ride back to the small packing area). Will not go back to this DZ.

I visited Mile-Hi recently and had a nice day of jumping. They had excellent facilities, very clean and neat. Lots of technology. Tv's everywhere for manifest, and for tandems waiting to jump who get to enjoy some television. Lots of room to pack. Friendly people, hott girls and lots of fun jumpers! My only complaints would be the trailer ride to the plane and back to the hangar after your jump. Especially the ride back, everybody stepping and falling all over your canopy. Due to the set up there, I understand its neccessary right now. I was also shocked at the amount of inexperienced jumpers doing bigger ways. Seemed very dangerous. I really enjoyed the scenery. Awesome rocky mountain backdrop! Overall, it was a fun time! I'd go back if I'm ever in the area again.

I'm currently working on my A license at Mile-Hi. The AFF instructors were great and the coaches have been fantastic. The canopy course is especially helpful. The experienced jumpers I've met will take time to help or answer questions. It gets VERY busy on the weekends, so I recommend getting there as soon as they open if you want to get in more than one jump. During peak hours, it can be tough to get a rental rig. I would guess owning your own chute makes more jumps possible.

The view during free fall can't be beat!

My son and I visited Mile-Hi in June. He had just returned from military and needed to get back in the air/recurrent. We first went on Sunday. The otter was flying and the vibe seemed positive. We were welcomed by staff and given all of the necessary briefings after completing all of the required paperwork. One staffer was slightly in error on reserve repack requirements but was quickly brought up to speed by another staffer saving us a dispute over dates. This was NOT a negative. We are all human and make mistakes. The fact that it was quickly and professionally addressed/resolved is good stuff.

The winds that day had gotten pretty rough so we never did get to make a jump. We returned with a couple of guys from another drop zone the next day. They didn't have their paperwork in order and were held from jumping until verified. I felt bad for them but I wasn't upset with the DZ for maintaining a standard. It may seem to be picky but they have a program and they stick to it. I respect that.

The instructors that I met were very professional and experienced. Nobody spoke down to us (me a D/TI and my son an A). The primary concerns were safety and having fun. Isn't that what's important?

We met other skydivers, local and out of townies visiting. Managed to make some jumps with another visitor and all had a great time.

I felt that this was a very good environment for both the new and experienced skydiver.

The building/hanger was well equipped with space and items as well as TV, snacks and games to occupy the non jumpers. The King Air was awesome.

The things that only slightly bothered me were that the flight pattern is both left and right depending on where you are on the load. I am use to having things one way... Since there were only a few of us it didn't matter much but if the groups were larger I think it would have gotten confusing. But I have an open mind so maybe it works. The trailer ride was interesting. I'd never had to be transported to the loading/landing areas. Again, open minds... All in all these were not issues.

This is a great drop zone. Like most bigger operations, they have established rules. Be prepared to show your paperwork and gear to confirm you are current. I will definitely jump there again if I return to Colorado.

I went there to Mile-Hi to skydive for my 30th birthday. I felt the need to do something young and exciting. I wasn't nervous because my neighbor had been there twice and said that the staff were amazing and the center itself made you feel safe. The excitement grew sitting waiting for our names to be called and everything happened so fast that there wasn't a lot of time to get nervous. My tandem person was great and made me feel like there wasn't anything to be afraid of. All in all I loved the entire experience and will definitely be going back!!!

Sure, Mile-Hi has a monopoly for an otter in Colorado. That is the reason most fun jumpers continue to go to this dropzone. Honestly, the packing area sucks. Its thin carpet over concrete. The staff is sometimes friendly, but seem to always overcharge me somehow. Complete tandem factory and takes months to even get AFF done. They only allow you to get one AFF jump a day unless everyone else has had more than one. Most of the fun jumpers are very nice and are a great crowd...

Went to Mile-Hi for my first ever jump on 8/29/2009 and absolutely loved it. The staff is friendly and make enough jokes to keep the atmosphere light, even as you're climbing to 12,500 feet in a tiny plane. :) My only complaint was that we had a reservation for 3:00 but didn't end up jumping until about 7:30. However, I guess this was due to an airshow at the airport running long that morning, so it wasn't their fault. Staff is friendly, funny, and know how to keep their guests' minds off the fact that they're about to jump out of a plane. Also, get the DVD/photo CD package! It's pricey ($100) but incredibly well-done and provides great proof to those who didn't think you actually went skydiving. They have a video person dedicated to each jumper that jumps with you and films you all the way through the free-fall and landing. They also tape before/after interviews of you on the plane and after you land.

Overall, it was a great experience. If you've never jumped before and are on the fence about trying it, go do it! It took just about everything I had to climb onto that plane but I'll definitely be doing it again.

Whatever type of flying your working on you can get help at Mile hi. This is a great place for AFF and tandems. Plenty of coaches and fun jumpers to work with. Awesome twin otter, King air, and a cessna. I've been jumping every season at mile hi for four years and only jumped the cessna 3-4 times. Very helpful staff and very professional. Great vibe, big landing area close to the mountains. Plenty of rental gear and a store for experienced jumpers. This is the place to jump in Colorado.

The first time I showed up the weather was bad. So I filled out all the paperwork and got the layout. Manifest was very helpful and provided all the information I needed. The next weekend, perfect weather. I arrived at 9:30, by 9:45 I was on a otter load for a hop & pop. The regulars were very friendly answering any questions. They have huge landing area, don't know how anyone could miss it. When I finished packing went back to the manifest window, they ask could I make a 5 minute call, I said sure. So within a very short time I had 2 jumps. By midday they were starting up the king air to handle tandems. Had great day, no complaints. Will definitely go back.

It is exactly what the other reviews read like. Terrible vibe, fun jumpers leave early due to not being able to get on loads because of tandems. Staff is rude due to working environment. I saw the DZO treat them like skum. Waited 3 hours to get on loads sometimes. I won't be going back.

Showed up on a Saturday hoping to meet and jump with the local crowd only to find a 3 hour wait between loads. In the morning there were some locals there but they quickly tapered off as the wait got longer and longer. The only plane they used was a nice otter that they seemed to have redone. The King Air just sat on the ground, even when it could have been running all day. I guess that's normal from what I was told. By early afternoon most of the locals had left to do other things. They said it's common and they come out early when the waits are between 1-2 hours.
The staff in the office was very busy and had no time to be curteous. I wasn't even showed the map and where I would need to look out for obstacles. As far as obstacles, steer clear of the gofer holes. There are many and will snap your leg as they have done to many jumpers I'm told.
Paying $27 per ticket was definetely the most I've ever paid. Didn't make much sense since they go to 12,000 feet.
Didn't see anyone organizing.
Tons and tons of tandems roaming about. They too were pissy from waiting 3 hours or so.
I stayed the whole day, I had to give it a chance since I was there. There was room on the last few loads since the tandem were done and there weren't much for fun jumpers. I jumped with one of the staff guys and he was fun. I was hoping to hang out and meet more of the staff over some beers after jumping but the owner shuts and locks every door as fast as they seem to be able to. It was like cockroaches scattering when you turn the lights on. I went out with the guy I jumped with and we had a beer. He can't wait to get transfered so he can jump elsewhere. Made sense to me.....so sad.

So I show up with two buddies who wanted to do tandems, and I was hoping to get on the same lift. I don't have my gear with me, and hadn't jumped there before, but the staff were very helpful in getting us all squared away and on the same lift.

Their rental gear is in great shape, the staff are very friendly and even though busy the staff were willing to go the extra mile in helping us get all out paperwork filled out manifested. We had a bit to wait as there was a lot of people jumping, but the two tandem instructors were really friendly, talked my buddies through their dive plans, and then sat around and BS'd with us till our time to jump.

Minimal wait time from when we loaded the trailer, headed out to the runway, and loaded the plane. Only got to 9k AGL due to cloud cover, but still a great jump.

By the time we landed and made it back to the hangers, manifest had already credited our accounts a few dollars since we didn't get up to 12.5, which we'd purchased the lift tickets for. Great experience start to finish!!!

Mile High Skydiving is now my home away from home.

True the DZ has nice aircraft but they don't utilize it. The management sucks, by the time they get around to putting another plane in the air, everyone left because they where tired of waiting for 2 hours for a load. Also it's hard to get new people to jump together unless you have hundreds of jumps or free fly really well. Basically it is on overpriced tandem factory. Jump tickets are now $27 and you are lucky if you get 12,000. I know gas price is through the roof, but that is just highway robbery.

This is my home DZ, and I go there every week. for about 1.5 years now. DZ gets lots of tandems in summer, but not once have I been "bumped from the load" or heard of anyone being bumped. As far as I can tell DZ is ran with good ethics and has very professional staff.

Read some bitching here about "dusty and long ride to the loading/area" and "bad vibe for jumpers" - BS. The ride is a con for the DZ, but not even worth mentioning. And "The Vibe" depends only on us (skydivers) as the DZ / Staff is VERY "jumper friendly".

Great / timely Rigging Services A+
VERY professional staff, that has no trouble "leveling" with new jumpers and explaining "stuff".

A+++ Mile-Hi.

I started my AFF here in October and I have loved every second I have spent at this DZ. My first jump course taught by Travis was amazing he is extremely knowledgeable and you can tell he loves his job. As well as all of the crew at Mile-Hi…The tandem instructors always look like they are having a blast and their tandem students have been a lot of fun to watch on jump run! I have a ton of questions because I'm so new to this and the people at Mile-Hi have been more than helpful making sure they all get answered... The Otter has been so much fun to learn to jump out of! The huge door and huge bar as well as their enormous landing area have made my first three AFF jumps that much more soothing! And last but not least, THE VIEWS! I love my mountains and what more can you ask for than looking at them from 12,000 feet off the ground! Thanks Mile-Hi for making this incredible experience that much better. I know I will be jumping here for a very long time.

I only spent a Day at Mile-Hi, but it was a pretty nice place. I was there during the week, so it wasn't as busy as I am sure it is on the weekend. From discussions I had with some locals, it sounds like this place is packed with Tandems on the weekends...which can be good and bad.

I thought the packing area was kind of small given the size of the DZ, and I thought the ride to the loading area really slowed the whole process of (jump; pack; jump; pack; jump) down a bit.

Anyway the Otter was nice and the landing area is HUGE!!! Beware the 5K altitude of the landing area on your first few jumps...its definitely a bit faster than most are used to. Beware the prarie dog holes which seem to be all over the place. They have a huge swoop pond too.

I rented a rig as I had not brought mine on my trip. They have REALLY nice/new rental gear; Mirage's with PD canopies.

All in all, it is a nice place with good facilities and nice aircraft.

I spent three summer months jumping at Mile Hi and I was not impressed. They have tons of airpower to get you up there, but they still always seemed to have a long wait at manifest on the weekends. Forget getting on a load quickly if you are there the on the same weekend as the air force cadets, they manifest in advance for the whole day. The otter is nice, and it runs all day but they often did not bring the king air out even when the otter was backed up for 2+ hours. I saw the king air run three times out of the 12 or more weekends that I was there. The trailer ride to the boarding area is bumpy and dusty, but I understand that is mostly out of the managements control for now. One good point is that the landing area is huge and the pilots consistently gave good spots for the entire load.

The tandem instructors seemed unhappy to be doing their job. It was a hot summer, so I can understand being tired. I can't count how many times I saw a TI get a students name then hardly even talk to them until it was time to hook up on jump run. 80- 100 tandems per day is the norm for weekends and they don't have the staff numbers to give them the attention they deserve for a truly memorable experience. I would consider it a tandem mill.

The fun jumpers, in general, are clicky and unwilling to jump with unfamiliar people. There seems to be no "help each other out" spirit. There is no good, upbeat vibes like I have gotten at other dropzones. If you show up looking to do RW, especially smaller jumps, prepare to be disapointed. This DZ is almost entirely free fliers.

I wish I could say more good things about this DZ, because with the right atmosphere it could have been one of the country's best. One thing that could be done to improve the vibes is to get a load organizer for all disciplines and skill levels. There were always several new license holders and low timers sitting around for a big part of the day because there was no one to show them what was next or provide any sort of mentoring.

Highly recommend this one. The staff put us up for the night wo we could have toilets showers and shelter instead of tents. super helpfull with advice and getting our friend in the air with a tandem while other dropzones said he was to big. Jumped with several of the locals who were more than willing to be friendly and coach when needed. We will be back with scenery like that and great weekend.

I showed up to this dz as a traveling jumper only to be treated like a mutant. They are only concerned with tandems and couldn't care about fun jumpers. I got bumped off a load once, got huge attitude from the manifester, and lots of dirt in my teeth from the mile long trailer ride. There was no organizing, or bunkhouse as they claim to have. The fun jumpers were all really cool but you could tell they didn't like the place either. It's a black hole of a dz that has no vibe. Never again.

As a student just off of AFF it can be difficult to get rental gear because they only have 3 or 4 rigs and there is not much of a variety. Only Mirages (which are sweet, but before purchasing it would be nice to demo other manufacturers. Sometimes it can be difficult to get those rigs packed because they have a lot of tandems and AFF students who are priority #1. Other than that everything is terrific. It is beautiful, everyone is willing to help newcomers, nice aircraft, and they have Mirage dealers that can help with the purchasing process. I am proud to say that it is my home DZ