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Window Seat

Austin → Sacramento

AUS–SMF · Austin–Bergstrom International Airport to Sacramento International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

San Francisco Peaks leads it, with 3 more on the same side.

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.

AUS to SMF: 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.AUSSMFLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 50 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. Petrified Forest

    LeftHalfway15 mi off the route

    Petrified Forest is about 15 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  2. Painted Desert

    Either sideHalfway6 mi off the route

    Painted Desert passes almost directly beneath around the halfway mark, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  3. San Francisco Peaks

    LeftHalfway39 mi off the route

    Look left around the halfway mark for San Francisco Peaks, about 39 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Grand Canyon

    Either sideThree quarters1 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  5. Lake Mead

    LeftThree quarters36 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Lake Mead sits roughly 36 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Mono Lake

    Either sideNear the end4 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  7. Half Dome

    LeftNear the end31 mi off the route

    Half Dome is about 31 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  8. Lake Tahoe

    RightNear the end50 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Lake Tahoe sits roughly 50 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

1,479 mi
Great-circle distance
300°
Course out of AUS
286°
Course into SMF
5
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?

Sacramento → AustinRight 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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