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Burbank → Bellingham

BUR–BLI · Hollywood Burbank Airport to Bellingham International Airport

Best bet

Left 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 left.

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.

BUR to BLI: 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.BURBLILEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011121314151617
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 102 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. Mono Lake

    RightQuarter in14 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Mono Lake, about 14 miles out.

    Good possibility

  2. Mount Hood

    LeftThree quarters16 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Mount Hood sits roughly 16 miles to the left.

    Strong candidate

  3. Mount Adams

    Either sideThree quarters7 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  4. Mount St. Helens

    LeftThree quarters26 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Mount St. Helens sits roughly 26 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  5. Mount Rainier

    Either sideNear the end4 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

Show 12 more along the way (Mount Whitney, Half Dome, Lake Tahoe, Mount Shasta, Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson, Columbia River Gorge, Puget Sound, Glacier Peak, Olympic Mountains, San Juan Islands, Mount Baker)

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

  1. Mount Whitney

    RightQuarter in34 mi off the route

    Mount Whitney is about 34 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  2. Half Dome

    LeftQuarter in17 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Half Dome sits roughly 17 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  3. Lake Tahoe

    LeftQuarter in25 mi off the route

    Lake Tahoe is about 25 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  4. Mount Shasta

    LeftHalfway102 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Mount Shasta sits roughly 102 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  5. Three Sisters

    LeftThree quarters39 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Three Sisters, about 39 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  6. Mount Jefferson

    LeftThree quarters31 mi off the route

    Mount Jefferson is about 31 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  7. Columbia River Gorge

    LeftThree quarters15 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Columbia River Gorge, about 15 miles out.

    Good possibility

  8. Puget Sound

    LeftNear the end11 mi off the route

    Puget Sound is about 11 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    Good possibility

  9. Glacier Peak

    RightNear the end53 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Glacier Peak sits roughly 53 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  10. Olympic Mountains

    LeftNear the end74 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Olympic Mountains, about 74 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  11. San Juan Islands

    LeftNear the end26 mi off the route

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

    Runway dependent

  12. Mount Baker

    RightNear the end32 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

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

1,031 mi
Great-circle distance
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?

Bellingham → BurbankRight 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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