Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

Las Vegas → Detroit

LAS–DTW · Harry Reid International Airport to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport

Best bet

Either side

Both sides workThe two sides come out close to level.

Both sides have something going for them, and the totals come out close enough that picking one would be a coin flip with extra steps.

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 DTW: 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.LASDTWLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
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. Lake Mead

    Either sideEarly7 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.

    Good possibility

  2. Lake Powell

    RightEarly24 mi off the route

    Lake Powell is about 24 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Good possibility

  3. Canyonlands

    LeftQuarter in21 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Canyonlands sits roughly 21 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  4. Pikes Peak

    RightQuarter in19 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Pikes Peak, about 19 miles out.

    Good possibility

  5. Chicago skyline

    Either sideNear the end5 mi off the route

    Chicago skyline passes almost directly beneath late in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

Show 5 more along the way (Zion National Park, Grand Canyon, San Juan Mountains, Maroon Bells, Mount Elbert)

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

  1. Zion National Park

    LeftEarly24 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Zion National Park sits roughly 24 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  2. Grand Canyon

    RightEarly66 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Grand Canyon, about 66 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  3. San Juan Mountains

    RightQuarter in26 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for San Juan Mountains, about 26 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Maroon Bells

    LeftQuarter in29 mi off the route

    Maroon Bells is about 29 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Mount Elbert

    LeftQuarter in23 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Mount Elbert sits roughly 23 miles to the left.

    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

1,745 mi
Great-circle distance
8
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?

Detroit → Las VegasEither 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