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Denver → Phoenix

DEN–PHX · Denver International Airport to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Painted Desert is the main event, and it has company: 5 more worth looking at out the right.

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.

DEN to PHX: 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.DENPHXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 55 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. Longs Peak

    RightEarly55 mi off the route

    Longs Peak is about 55 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Pikes Peak

    LeftEarly35 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Pikes Peak sits roughly 35 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Mount Elbert

    RightQuarter in32 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Mount Elbert, about 32 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. San Juan Mountains

    RightQuarter in22 mi off the route

    San Juan Mountains is about 22 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  5. Shiprock

    RightHalfway13 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Shiprock sits roughly 13 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  6. Canyon de Chelly

    RightThree quarters17 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Canyon de Chelly, about 17 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Painted Desert

    RightThree quarters11 mi off the route

    Painted Desert is about 11 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  8. Petrified Forest

    LeftThree quarters20 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Petrified Forest sits roughly 20 miles to the left.

    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

601 mi
Great-circle distance
225°
Course out of DEN
220°
Course into PHX
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?

Phoenix → DenverLeft 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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