Utah's First Hyperreality Experience Is A Safe But Thrilling Multi-Sensory Flight Simulation

Many adrenaline seekers have seen the first-person videos of wingsuited BASE jumpers leaping off cliffs and flying like birds over mountains and treetops. Unfortunately, wingsuit BASE jumping is one of the most dangerous sports you can try, which keeps most people from ever trying it. For folks who want to know what wingsuit flying is like without the risk, JUMP in Bluffdale, Utah, is the nation's first hyperreality wingsuit flight simulator, going way beyond video game virtual reality.

Located 21 miles south of Salt Lake City, the facility combines virtual reality headsets with real wingsuits and a wind tunnel for an immersive, perfectly safe wingsuit flight experience. Utah's mountains and canyons are already a popular destination for BASE jumpers, hang gliders, paragliders, and other extreme athletes. JUMP is also strategically located just 10 minutes away from Flight Park State Park at Point of the Mountain, a popular hang gliding and paragliding launch area.

Bluffdale is a southern suburb of Salt Lake City in the I-15 corridor between the Wasatch and Oquirrh mountain ranges, so a visit to JUMP can easily be combined with other outdoor mountain adventures or time spent in nearby Salt Lake City. Getting there is easy, since Salt Lake City International Airport is rated one of America's easiest airports to navigate, and there are plenty of places to stay around Bluffdale and in the greater Salt Lake City area.

Since 2022, JUMP has been open to the public for wingsuit flight simulation experiences in its shopping center location just off Interstate 15. Indoor skydiving has been around for years, but JUMP adds virtual reality to the experience for added elements of immersion and control over your flight to get as close to the real thing as you can without the danger, years of training, and cost to experience wingsuit BASE jumping in the real world.

The entire experience costs $94.99 on weekdays and $119 on weekends (as of this writing), takes about 45 minutes from start to finish, and includes instruction, a skydiving simulation, and two 4,000-foot cliff jumps. Participants actually leap from a ledge in the simulator to start their flights, adding to the realism of the jumps, and you can enjoy your flights alongside a group of friends. The experience was crafted with help from virtual reality experts as well as experienced wingsuit flight pros such as Marshall Miller, who serves as your in-experience virtual guide.

JUMP is popular with visitors, scoring 4.8 stars out of 5 on Google Maps and earning plenty of praise. Reviewer Rosanna Duran-Carlson wrote, "I've done VR before but this was soooo realistic and so immersive it was unreal. It definitely gets that adrenaline going." Most people can experience JUMP, but there are some basic requirements and recommendations to participate. Flyers should be at least 10 years old, weigh at least 70 pounds, be 59 inches tall, and be able to stand without support while carrying 30 pounds on their backs.

Because the wingsuit simulator experience takes less than an hour, you'll want to round out your visit to the area with some other adventures. Luckily, JUMP's location surrounded by mountain ranges provides plenty of opportunities for outdoor adventures that pair well with your first (simulated) BASE jump. The Wasatch Mountains offer world-class skiing in the winter, and nearby Sandy is Utah's ultimate base camp with endless attractions and beauty.

If you're an adrenaline junkie drawn to the rush of JUMP's simulated wingsuit flying, a related and relatively safe extreme sports option sits nearby at Point of Mountain where several flight schools offer hang gliding and paragliding experiences at Flight Park State Park. First-time paragliders can fly tandem with a certified instructor who handles the safety and logistics while you enjoy the flight.

For another real-world rush, try skydiving at Skydive Utah, 30 minutes west of Salt Lake City. Tandem flights are a safe but thrilling way to experience actually jumping from a plane 12,000 feet above the Earth. Tandem skydive flights take off Thursdays through Mondays, and the experience costs between $220 and $270 and takes about four hours. Want to check out the Great Salt Lake instead of just Salt Lake City? Head north of the city about an hour and a half drive around the southern end of the lake to Antelope Island State Park, home to the little-known island full of wildlife, hiking trails, and no crowds.