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Bellingham → Los Angeles

BLI–LAX · Bellingham International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Mount Hood is the main event, and it has company: 9 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.

BLI to LAX: 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.BLILAXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011121314151617
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 99 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. Mount Baker

    LeftEarly32 mi off the route

    Mount Baker sits close enough to BLI that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  2. San Juan Islands

    RightEarly26 mi off the route

    Whether San Juan Islands appears comes down to how you get out of BLI, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

  3. Olympic Mountains

    RightEarly74 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Olympic Mountains, about 74 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Glacier Peak

    LeftEarly53 mi off the route

    Glacier Peak is about 53 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  5. Puget Sound

    RightEarly11 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Puget Sound sits roughly 11 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  6. Mount Rainier

    Either sideEarly5 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  7. Mount St. Helens

    RightQuarter in25 mi off the route

    Mount St. Helens is about 25 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  8. Mount Adams

    Either sideQuarter in8 mi off the route

    Mount Adams passes almost directly beneath about a quarter of the way in, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

  9. Columbia River Gorge

    RightQuarter in14 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Columbia River Gorge, about 14 miles out.

    Good possibility

  10. Mount Hood

    RightQuarter in14 mi off the route

    Mount Hood is about 14 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Strong candidate

  11. Mount Jefferson

    RightQuarter in30 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Mount Jefferson sits roughly 30 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  12. Three Sisters

    RightQuarter in37 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Three Sisters, about 37 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  13. Mount Shasta

    RightHalfway99 mi off the route

    Mount Shasta is about 99 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  14. Lake Tahoe

    RightThree quarters21 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Lake Tahoe sits roughly 21 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  15. Mono Lake

    LeftThree quarters19 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Mono Lake, about 19 miles out.

    Good possibility

  16. Half Dome

    RightThree quarters13 mi off the route

    Half Dome is about 13 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  17. Mount Whitney

    LeftThree quarters39 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Mount Whitney sits roughly 39 miles to the left.

    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

1,048 mi
Great-circle distance
167°
Course out of BLI
170°
Course into LAX
13
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?

Los Angeles → BellinghamLeft 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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