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Colorado Springs → San Diego

COS–SAN · Colorado Springs Airport to San Diego 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.

COS to SAN: 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.COSSANLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 56 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. Pikes Peak

    RightEarly11 mi off the route

    Pikes Peak sits close enough to COS that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  2. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    LeftEarly56 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Sangre de Cristo Mountains sits roughly 56 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. San Juan Mountains

    RightQuarter in25 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for San Juan Mountains, about 25 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Shiprock

    LeftQuarter in21 mi off the route

    Shiprock is about 21 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Monument Valley

    RightHalfway32 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Monument Valley sits roughly 32 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Grand Canyon

    RightHalfway36 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Grand Canyon, about 36 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. San Francisco Peaks

    LeftHalfway20 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks is about 20 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  8. Salton Sea

    LeftNear the end9 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Salton Sea sits roughly 9 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  9. San Jacinto Peak

    RightNear the end45 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for San Jacinto Peak, about 45 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

815 mi
Great-circle distance
243°
Course out of COS
236°
Course into SAN
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?

San Diego → Colorado SpringsEither 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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