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Las Vegas → Anchorage

LAS–ANC · Harry Reid International Airport to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Mount Jefferson 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.

LAS to ANC: 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.LASANCLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 66 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. Three Sisters

    Either sideQuarter in1 mi off the route

    Three Sisters 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

  2. Mount Jefferson

    RightQuarter in20 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Mount Jefferson sits roughly 20 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  3. Prince William Sound

    RightNear the end21 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Prince William Sound, about 21 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Turnagain Arm

    Either sideNear the end8 mi off the route

    Whether Turnagain Arm appears comes down to how you come into ANC, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

Show 4 more along the way (Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Olympic Mountains, the Chugach Mountains)

Further off the route, closer to an airport, or both. Still in flight order, still numbered to match the diagram.

  1. Mount Hood

    RightQuarter in52 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Mount Hood, about 52 miles out.

    Good possibility

  2. Mount St. Helens

    RightQuarter in65 mi off the route

    Mount St. Helens is about 65 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  3. Olympic Mountains

    RightHalfway66 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Olympic Mountains sits roughly 66 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  4. the Chugach Mountains

    RightNear the end56 mi off the route

    the Chugach Mountains is about 56 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    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

2,301 mi
Great-circle distance
6
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?

Anchorage → Las VegasLeft 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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