The Perrine Bridge and BASE Jumping

The Perrine Bridge spans the Snake River Canyon four hundred eighty-six feet above the river. It is one of the tallest bridges in the United States. It is also, for a very specific community of people, one of the most important pieces of infrastructure on earth.

Twin Falls may be the only place in the United States where you can legally BASE jump year-round from a fixed object on public land without a permit. BASE is an acronym for the four surfaces from which this form of extreme parachuting can be done: Buildings, Antennas, Spans, and Earth. The Perrine Bridge covers the S. Jumpers do not need to file paperwork, notify authorities, or pay fees. They simply show up, rig their gear, and step off. On a busy spring weekend, dozens of jumps happen in a single day.

The current truss arch bridge was completed in nineteen seventy-six and replaced a steel cantilever bridge that opened in nineteen twenty-seven. It was named for Ira Perrine, the developer who brought the Carey Act irrigation project to the Magic Valley. The height and the canyon geometry made it an obvious draw for the BASE community when the sport emerged in the early nineteen eighties.

The access arrangement between jumpers and local authorities was not formally negotiated in a single stroke. It evolved over years of relatively tolerant law enforcement and a community of jumpers who kept their conduct responsible enough to avoid a crackdown. The Idaho Transportation Department, which owns the bridge, has generally accommodated the practice.

Accidents happen here. Eleven jumpers had died at the Perrine as of early twenty twenty-five, almost always from parachute malfunctions or entanglement. The canyon is not forgiving of mistakes. But the community of jumpers treats Twin Falls as something close to sacred ground, a place where the sport can exist in the open without the usual cat-and-mouse with property owners and police. Spectators gather on the rim almost every afternoon to watch.