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Window Seat

Boise → Chicago

BOI–ORD · Boise Airport to Chicago O'Hare International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Black Hills 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.

BOI to ORD: 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.BOIORDLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 45 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. Sawtooth Range

    LeftEarly21 mi off the route

    Sawtooth Range is about 21 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Good possibility

  2. Craters of the Moon

    RightEarly18 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Craters of the Moon sits roughly 18 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  3. Grand Teton

    Either sideQuarter in5 mi off the route

    Grand Teton 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

  4. Yellowstone Lake

    LeftQuarter in45 mi off the route

    Yellowstone Lake is about 45 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Wind River Range

    RightQuarter in45 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Wind River Range sits roughly 45 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Bighorn Mountains

    LeftQuarter in38 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for Bighorn Mountains, about 38 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Black Hills

    LeftHalfway9 mi off the route

    Black Hills is about 9 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  8. Badlands

    Either sideHalfway4 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

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

1,433 mi
Great-circle distance
85°
Course out of BOI
104°
Course into ORD
6
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?

Chicago → BoiseRight 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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