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Spokane → San Diego

GEG–SAN · Spokane International Airport to San Diego International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Death Valley leads it, with 3 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.

GEG 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.GEGSANLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 57 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. Hells Canyon

    LeftQuarter in40 mi off the route

    Hells Canyon is about 40 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  2. Wallowa Mountains

    Either sideQuarter in7 mi off the route

    Wallowa Mountains passes almost directly beneath about a quarter of the way in, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  3. Mount Whitney

    RightThree quarters57 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Mount Whitney, about 57 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Death Valley

    LeftThree quarters22 mi off the route

    Death Valley is about 22 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  5. San Gorgonio Mountain

    LeftNear the end22 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, San Gorgonio Mountain sits roughly 22 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. San Jacinto Peak

    LeftNear the end31 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for San Jacinto Peak, about 31 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

1,029 mi
Great-circle distance
179°
Course out of GEG
179°
Course into SAN
5
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 → SpokaneRight 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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