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Los Angeles → Cleveland

LAX–CLE · Los Angeles International Airport to Cleveland Hopkins 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 Monument Valley, 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.

LAX to CLE: 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.LAXCLELEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 64 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. San Gorgonio Mountain

    RightEarly29 mi off the route

    San Gorgonio Mountain is about 29 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Grand Canyon

    Either sideQuarter in7 mi off the route

    Grand Canyon passes almost directly beneath about a quarter of the way in, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

  3. San Francisco Peaks

    RightQuarter in64 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for San Francisco Peaks, about 64 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Lake Powell

    LeftQuarter in35 mi off the route

    Lake Powell is about 35 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Monument Valley

    LeftQuarter in10 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Monument Valley sits roughly 10 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  6. Shiprock

    RightQuarter in33 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Shiprock, about 33 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. San Juan Mountains

    LeftQuarter in32 mi off the route

    San Juan Mountains is about 32 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  8. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    RightHalfway35 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Sangre de Cristo Mountains sits roughly 35 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  9. Great Sand Dunes

    RightHalfway24 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Great Sand Dunes, about 24 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Pikes Peak

    LeftHalfway41 mi off the route

    Pikes Peak is about 41 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    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

2,048 mi
Great-circle distance
65°
Course out of LAX
87°
Course into CLE
9
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?

Cleveland → Los AngelesRight 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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