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Baltimore → Las Vegas

BWI–LAS · Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport to Harry Reid International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Slight edgeEnough to break a tie, not enough to change seats over.

It is close. The left edges it, mostly on Monument Valley, but the right is not a bad seat.

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.

BWI to LAS: 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.BWILASLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 48 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. San Juan Mountains

    RightThree quarters20 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, San Juan Mountains sits roughly 20 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  2. Monument Valley

    LeftNear the end18 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Monument Valley, about 18 miles out.

    Good possibility

  3. Lake Powell

    Either sideNear the end1 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  4. Lake Mead

    Either sideNear the end2 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

Show 6 more along the way (the National Mall, Pikes Peak, Great Sand Dunes, Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Grand Canyon, Zion National Park)

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

  1. the National Mall

    LeftEarly22 mi off the route

    the National Mall sits close enough to BWI that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  2. Pikes Peak

    RightThree quarters45 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Pikes Peak sits roughly 45 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  3. Great Sand Dunes

    LeftThree quarters25 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Great Sand Dunes, about 25 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    LeftThree quarters36 mi off the route

    Sangre de Cristo Mountains is about 36 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  5. Grand Canyon

    LeftNear the end48 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Grand Canyon sits roughly 48 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Zion National Park

    RightNear the end39 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Zion National Park, about 39 miles out.

    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

2,101 mi
Great-circle distance
7
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?

Las Vegas → BaltimoreRight 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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