Duck Hill, located 20 miles south of Reno, NV, is a popular paragliding site in the Tahoe region. The launch elevation is 5,900 feet, with a landing zone (LZ) at 5,050 feet. The site is known for its thermal soaring and sunset flights, making it an excellent training ground. It is unregulated, but novice pilots (H2) should fly with an instructor, while intermediate (H3) and advanced (H4) pilots can fly independently.
The launch area faces North, Northwest, and West, with North being the preferred wind direction. The launch site consists of sloping loose dirt, rocks, and sagebrush. The landing zone is a very large, flat, grassy field located at the south end of Washoe Lake State Park. The area behind the launches is suitable for top landings.
Duck Hill is accessible year-round. The setup area is spacious, with plenty of room for gliders, consisting of rocky dirt and sagebrush. Access to the launch is via a partially maintained dirt road, which is easier to navigate with a 4WD vehicle, though a rugged 2WD with good clearance can also manage.
The site record for distance is 55.0 km. For weather updates, there is a weather station at the west end of the Duck Hill ridge, near HWY 395, about 2.5 miles west of the launch. The Reno area soaring forecast can be found [here](https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=39.224621&lon=-119.779331&site=rev&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=text#.Y1j94D1Bypo).
For more information, you can visit [Lake Tahoe Paragliding](https://laketahoeparagliding.com/) or the [Duck Hill page on Hang Gliding Org](http://www.hanggliding.org/wiki/Duck_Hill).
Watch some flights at Duck Hill on [YouTube](
Click to watch video
) and [YouTube](
Click to watch video
).
For additional details, check out the [site description on BHGC](http://www.bhgc.org/sites/#site_duck-hill-nv).
