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Tiger Mountain

Tiger Mountain is a beautiful place to fly with majestic views of Mt. Rainier, the Cascade and Olympic mountain ranges, along with Puget Sound and the lakes and cities of the greater metropolitan area. The views, along with the easy access to launch, and great consistent flying have made Tiger Mountain one of the most popular flying sites in the United States.​Extensive work has been done at Tiger by the paragliding community, Northwest paragliding club and Team Chirico over the last 15 years. Trees have been cleared (in cooperation with DNR), grass planted, bathrooms installed, and more artificial turf laid on north launch to support an upper and lower launch, as well as a new 80' weather tower providing conditions every 5 minutes.  The club also worked with DNR to build an access road for the shuttle service which eliminates a 300 yd hike through the woods to transfer into a 2nd shuttle, instead allowing the shuttle to drive from the LZ directly to launch. The city of Issaquah officially lists paragliding at Tiger Mountain as a community treasure.​Tiger is flyable with winds from the south, west and preferably, the north. During peak season, Tiger Mt. provides prolific lift for beginner pilots to enjoy hour long flights. More advanced pilots will find ample cross-country potential at Tiger. Flights from Tiger have gone as far North as the Canadian border, South past Mt. Rainier, and East through Snoqualmie pass into eastern Washington. A soaring flight over launch provides spectacular views of Mt. Rainier to the south, Mt. Si, to the east, Mt Baker and Lake Sammamish to the north, and Seattle’s skyline to the west. It’s beautiful. With extended daylight hours in the summer the last flights typically land around 9pm. If timed correctly one can launch, catch the glass off, and watch the sunset from the air. Complimenting the great flying are the many pilots who hang out at Tiger. A quick 30-minute drive from downtown Seattle makes it possible to catch a quick flight after work, or even as an extended lunch flight. Local pilots often gather for good flying, post flying BBQs, and good company. The popularity of the site can make for somewhat crowded conditions on launch and in the air.

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1. General Information

  • Site Rating: P2+ or P1 under direct instructor supervision

  • Site Support: Site is paid for, managed and maintained by the Northwest Paragliding Club. Washington State DNR (Department of Natural Resources) expects that all pilots flying Tiger are NWPC members.  Visiting Pilot Memberships are available.

  • Best months to fly: April - August, but flyable all year.

  • Best times to fly: Given an 8:30 PM sunset, thermals are best from 1-4pm. Glass offs often run from 5 to 8:30 pm.

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1.1. North Launch

  • Elevation: 1,830'.  GPS Coordinates: 47°29'58"N 122°0'30"W

  • North Launch Weather Station Updated Every 5min. Click Here

  • LZ Weather Station Updated Every 1min. Click Here

  • Glide ratio to LZ : 2:1

  • Wind Direction: Ideal N through NW. West through NNE OK

  • Wind Strength: Min: 0, Ideal: 7, Max: 12 MPH (Max 15 MPH for HG)​

1.2. South Launch

  • Elevation: 1,680'.  GPS Coordinates: 47°29'48"N 122°0'38"W

  • When launching from south, pilots must navigate out and around to the right to clear the southwest arm of Tiger in order to then fly north to the LZ.  

  • Glide ratio to LZ: 3:1 

  • Wind Direction: Ideal SSE to SW East winds in excess of 2 kts create hazardous conditions.

  • Wind Strength: Min: 0, Ideal: 7, Max: 12 MPH (Max 15 MPH for HG)

1.3. Tiger LZ

  • Elevation: 180'.  GPS Coordinates: 47°30'01.6"N 122°01'19.1"W

2. Site Requirements   

  • Helmets are required.

  • Conditions at Tiger Mountain can be unpredictable and change rapidly. A site briefing is strongly advised. A NWPC visiting pilot membership includes a site briefing.

  • Use extreme caution when East winds are present or possible.

  • Pilots should follow all USHPA rules when flying at Tiger Mountain, including utilization of proper safety equipment (reserve parachute, radio, boots, back protection, speed bar, etc).

  • All pilots are required to follow USHPA right-of-way rules and to maintain adequate separation from other pilots.

  • Motorized paragliders and motorized hang gliders are not permitted in the LZ.

  • The minimum rating for hang pilots is H2 with instructor or H3 without.

  • Use of the upper north launch is prohibited when horses are present.

  • Pilots must follow FAA rules which include VFR separation from clouds. For more information, see Aeronautical Information Manual at www.faa.gov.

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3. Site Protocol

Standard ridge rules apply at Tiger:

  • Pilot with the ridge on the right has the right of way.

  • First one in the thermal determines direction.

  • Gliders on top yield to gliders below.

The Tiger LZ uses a standard aircraft approach of downwind to base leg to final. For safety, the downwind approach should be over the trees on the east side of the LZ. The west side of the LZ contains power lines, light poles and can distract traffic on the road.

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3.1. Tiger North Launch Top Landing Protocol

  • Top landing may only be attempted when the area to be landed in is clear of pilots and spectators. 

  • Top landing must never interfere with launching pilots. If a pilot is set up to launch, you must stay completely clear of their launching operation.

  • When the launch is busy, top landings should be avoided.

  • When the launch is busy, it *may* be acceptable to side land on the west face but only if the landing pilot and wing does not interfere with activity on launch and only if the west face is clear of pilots and spectators.

  • Pilots and spectators are not expected to scramble out of the way for top landing pilots.

  • Top landing is expressly prohibited when horses are present. 

  • Top landing pilots must always yield to to launching traffic and people on the launch. 

  • Top landing pilots must never fly over the heads of pilots or spectators on launch, and especially never fly over a glider ready to be pulled up.

  • When students are launching, provide an even larger margin of safety over the above prescribed rules.

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