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Window Seat

Las Vegas → Washington

LAS–DCA · Harry Reid International Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

Best bet

Right side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Monument 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.

LAS to DCA: 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.LASDCALEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 52 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 sideEarly1 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

    LeftEarly41 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Zion National Park sits roughly 41 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Grand Canyon

    RightEarly46 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Grand Canyon, about 46 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Lake Powell

    Either sideEarly1 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  5. Monument Valley

    RightEarly15 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Monument Valley sits roughly 15 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  6. San Juan Mountains

    LeftQuarter in25 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for San Juan Mountains, about 25 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    RightQuarter in29 mi off the route

    Sangre de Cristo Mountains is about 29 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  8. Great Sand Dunes

    RightQuarter in19 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Great Sand Dunes sits roughly 19 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  9. Pikes Peak

    LeftQuarter in52 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for Pikes Peak, about 52 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

2,084 mi
Great-circle distance
73°
Course out of LAS
97°
Course into DCA
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?

Washington → 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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