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Window Seat

Las Vegas → Colorado Springs

LAS–COS · Harry Reid International Airport to Colorado Springs Airport

Best bet

Right side

Slight edgeEnough to break a tie, not enough to change seats over.

It is close. The right edges it, mostly on Lake Powell, but the left 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.

LAS to COS: 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.LASCOSLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 59 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. Lake Mead

    Either sideEarly5 mi off the route

    Lake Mead passes almost directly beneath early in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

  2. Zion National Park

    LeftQuarter in30 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Zion National Park sits roughly 30 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Grand Canyon

    RightQuarter in59 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Grand Canyon, about 59 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Lake Powell

    RightHalfway15 mi off the route

    Lake Powell is about 15 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  5. Monument Valley

    RightHalfway37 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Monument Valley sits roughly 37 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Canyonlands

    LeftHalfway35 mi off the route

    Look left around the halfway mark for Canyonlands, about 35 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. San Juan Mountains

    Either sideThree quarters7 mi off the route

    San Juan Mountains passes almost directly beneath about three quarters of the way, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  8. Mount Elbert

    LeftNear the end46 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount Elbert sits roughly 46 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  9. Pikes Peak

    Either sideNear the end7 mi off the route

    Pikes Peak sits close enough to COS that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

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

603 mi
Great-circle distance
69°
Course out of LAS
75°
Course into COS
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?

Colorado Springs → 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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