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Window Seat

Everett → San Diego

PAE–SAN · Seattle Paine Field International Airport to San Diego International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Mount Hood is the main event, and it has company: 6 more worth looking at out the right.

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.

PAE to SAN: 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.PAESANLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011121314
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 56 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. Glacier Peak

    LeftEarly56 mi off the route

    Glacier Peak is about 56 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Puget Sound

    RightEarly8 mi off the route

    Whether Puget Sound appears comes down to how you get out of PAE, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

  3. Mount Rainier

    Either sideEarly4 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  4. Mount St. Helens

    RightEarly28 mi off the route

    Mount St. Helens is about 28 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Good possibility

  5. Mount Adams

    Either sideEarly4 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  6. Columbia River Gorge

    RightEarly19 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Columbia River Gorge, about 19 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Mount Hood

    RightQuarter in21 mi off the route

    Mount Hood is about 21 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Strong candidate

  8. Mount Jefferson

    RightQuarter in39 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Mount Jefferson sits roughly 39 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  9. Three Sisters

    RightQuarter in48 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Three Sisters, about 48 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Lake Tahoe

    RightHalfway52 mi off the route

    Lake Tahoe is about 52 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  11. Mono Lake

    RightThree quarters16 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Mono Lake sits roughly 16 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  12. Mount Whitney

    Either sideThree quarters1 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  13. San Gorgonio Mountain

    LeftNear the end41 mi off the route

    San Gorgonio Mountain is about 41 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  14. San Jacinto Peak

    LeftNear the end45 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, San Jacinto Peak sits roughly 45 miles to the left.

    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

1,081 mi
Great-circle distance
164°
Course out of PAE
167°
Course into SAN
10
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?

San Diego → EverettLeft 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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