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Los Angeles → Montrose

LAX–MTJ · Los Angeles International Airport to Montrose Regional 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.

LAX to MTJ: 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.LAXMTJLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 47 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

    RightEarly37 mi off the route

    San Gorgonio Mountain is about 37 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Lake Mead

    LeftHalfway24 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Lake Mead sits roughly 24 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  3. Grand Canyon

    RightHalfway47 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Grand Canyon, about 47 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Lake Powell

    RightThree quarters11 mi off the route

    Lake Powell is about 11 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  5. Monument Valley

    RightThree quarters43 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Monument Valley sits roughly 43 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Canyonlands

    LeftThree quarters23 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Canyonlands, about 23 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. San Juan Mountains

    RightNear the end34 mi off the route

    San Juan Mountains sits close enough to MTJ 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

665 mi
Great-circle distance
59°
Course out of LAX
65°
Course into MTJ
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?

Montrose → Los AngelesLeft 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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