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Eagle → Phoenix

EGE–PHX · Eagle County Regional Airport to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Painted Desert leads it, with 4 more on the same side.

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.

EGE 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.EGEPHXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 54 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. Mount Elbert

    LeftEarly42 mi off the route

    Mount Elbert is about 42 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Maroon Bells

    LeftEarly20 mi off the route

    Whether Maroon Bells appears comes down to how you get out of EGE, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

  3. San Juan Mountains

    LeftQuarter in26 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for San Juan Mountains, about 26 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Shiprock

    LeftHalfway29 mi off the route

    Shiprock is about 29 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  5. Monument Valley

    RightHalfway41 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Monument Valley sits roughly 41 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Canyon de Chelly

    LeftHalfway18 mi off the route

    Look left around the halfway mark for Canyon de Chelly, about 18 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Painted Desert

    LeftThree quarters16 mi off the route

    Painted Desert is about 16 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  8. Meteor Crater

    RightThree quarters11 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Meteor Crater sits roughly 11 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  9. San Francisco Peaks

    RightThree quarters54 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for San Francisco Peaks, about 54 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

513 mi
Great-circle distance
215°
Course out of EGE
212°
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 → EagleRight 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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