Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

Washington → Portland

IAD–PDX · Washington Dulles International Airport to Portland 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 Mount Hood, 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.

IAD to PDX: 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.IADPDXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 84 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. Chicago skyline

    LeftQuarter in23 mi off the route

    Chicago skyline is about 23 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  2. Hells Canyon

    LeftNear the end29 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Hells Canyon sits roughly 29 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Wallowa Mountains

    LeftNear the end41 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Wallowa Mountains, about 41 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Mount Adams

    RightNear the end38 mi off the route

    Mount Adams is about 38 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    Good possibility

  5. Mount Rainier

    RightNear the end84 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount Rainier sits roughly 84 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Mount Hood

    LeftNear the end18 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Mount Hood, about 18 miles out.

    Strong candidate

  7. Columbia River Gorge

    Either sideNear the end5 mi off the route

    Columbia River Gorge sits close enough to PDX that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  8. Mount St. Helens

    RightNear the end41 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount St. Helens sits roughly 41 miles to the right.

    Good 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

2,322 mi
Great-circle distance
296°
Course out of IAD
265°
Course into PDX
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?

Portland → WashingtonRight 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.

Keep nerding