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Anchorage → Salt Lake City

ANC–SLC · Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport to Salt Lake City International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Great Salt Lake is the main event, and it has company: 4 more worth looking at out the right.

Flight paths move around. Treat this as the better bet, not a promise.

What you might see

In flight order, with distance measured from the representative route.

ANC to SLC: where each landmark sits relative to the routeA diagram of the representative route running left to right, with the departure airport at the left and the arrival airport at the right. Landmarks on the left side of the aircraft are plotted above the route line and landmarks on the right side below it, each at its distance from the route. The numbered list below this diagram carries the same information as text.ANCSLCLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 75 miles); the shaded ends are the 40-mile zones around each airport where the runway in use decides the view. Numbers match the list below. Hollow markers didn't count toward the recommendation.

  1. Prince William Sound

    Either sideEarly5 mi off the route

    Prince William Sound passes almost directly beneath early in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

  2. Hells Canyon

    Either sideThree quarters4 mi off the route

    Hells Canyon passes almost directly beneath about three quarters of the way, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  3. Sawtooth Range

    Either sideNear the end7 mi off the route

    Sawtooth Range passes almost directly beneath late in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  4. Great Salt Lake

    RightNear the end10 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Great Salt Lake sits roughly 10 miles to the right.

    Strong candidate

Show 7 more along the way (Turnagain Arm, the Chugach Mountains, Mount Fairweather, the Coast Mountains, Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Wallowa Mountains)

Further off the route, closer to an airport, or both. Still in flight order, still numbered to match the diagram.

  1. Turnagain Arm

    RightEarly9 mi off the route

    Turnagain Arm sits close enough to ANC that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  2. the Chugach Mountains

    LeftEarly48 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, the Chugach Mountains sits roughly 48 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Mount Fairweather

    LeftQuarter in75 mi off the route

    Mount Fairweather is about 75 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  4. the Coast Mountains

    RightHalfway14 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, the Coast Mountains sits roughly 14 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  5. Mount Baker

    RightThree quarters28 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Mount Baker, about 28 miles out.

    Good possibility

  6. Glacier Peak

    RightThree quarters35 mi off the route

    Glacier Peak is about 35 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  7. Wallowa Mountains

    RightThree quarters30 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Wallowa Mountains sits roughly 30 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

The sun

Flying soon? Add your date and departure time and we'll work out where the sun should be, and which side gets less of it.

Airport codes or city names. SEA, Seattle, and Seattle-Tacoma all work.

Skip the date and you still get the landmark answer. Add it and we work out where the sun will be, using the departure airport's local time.

The route we used

2,121 mi
Great-circle distance
7
Landmarks that counted

That is the shortest path between the two airports, used as a representative corridor rather than a flight plan. The first and last 40 miles are treated as uncertain, because that part of the flight is shaped by the runway in use and the published departure or arrival procedure. Anything in those zones is listed and marked, never counted toward the recommendation.

Left and right, from where?

Left and right are from your perspective sitting in the cabin, facing the front of the aircraft. Seat letters are not a reliable guide to which side you are on, because aircraft are configured differently.

Why this isn't guaranteed

Flights don't follow the same path every day. Runway configuration, weather deviations, traffic, and air traffic control all move the track around, and none of it is knowable in advance. We also have nothing to say about cloud cover, which is the other thing standing between you and Mount Rainier. The full method.

Flying the other way?

Salt Lake City → AnchorageLeft side

Calculated from scratch, not by flipping this one. The landmarks arrive in the opposite order, the sun is somewhere else entirely, and the answer changes with them.

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