Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

Burbank → Denver

BUR–DEN · Hollywood Burbank Airport to Denver International Airport

Best bet

Either side

Both sides workThe two sides come out close to level.

Both sides have something going for them, and the totals come out close enough that picking one would be a coin flip with extra steps.

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 DEN: 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.BURDENLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 61 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. Lake Mead

    LeftQuarter in9 mi off the route

    Lake Mead is about 9 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  2. Zion National Park

    LeftHalfway30 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Zion National Park sits roughly 30 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Grand Canyon

    RightHalfway61 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Grand Canyon, about 61 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Lake Powell

    RightHalfway25 mi off the route

    Lake Powell is about 25 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  5. Canyonlands

    Either sideThree quarters8 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  6. San Juan Mountains

    RightThree quarters49 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for San Juan Mountains, about 49 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Maroon Bells

    Either sideThree quarters0 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  8. Mount Elbert

    RightNear the end9 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount Elbert sits roughly 9 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  9. Pikes Peak

    RightNear the end57 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Pikes Peak, about 57 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Longs Peak

    LeftNear the end45 mi off the route

    Longs Peak is about 45 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    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

849 mi
Great-circle distance
59°
Course out of BUR
67°
Course into DEN
8
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?

Denver → BurbankEither 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.

Keep nerding