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Everett → San Francisco

PAE–SFO · Seattle Paine Field International Airport to San Francisco International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Mount Rainier is the main event, and it has company: 7 more worth looking at out the left.

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 SFO: 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.PAESFOLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011121314
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 72 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. Olympic Mountains

    RightEarly72 mi off the route

    Olympic Mountains is about 72 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Puget Sound

    Either sideEarly7 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

    LeftEarly25 mi off the route

    Look left early in the flight for Mount Rainier, about 25 miles out.

    Strong candidate

  4. Mount Adams

    LeftQuarter in39 mi off the route

    Mount Adams is about 39 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  5. Mount St. Helens

    Either sideQuarter in5 mi off the route

    Mount St. Helens 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

  6. Columbia River Gorge

    LeftQuarter in25 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for Columbia River Gorge, about 25 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Mount Hood

    LeftQuarter in30 mi off the route

    Mount Hood is about 30 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  8. Mount Jefferson

    LeftQuarter in25 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Mount Jefferson sits roughly 25 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  9. Three Sisters

    LeftHalfway27 mi off the route

    Look left around the halfway mark for Three Sisters, about 27 miles out.

    Good possibility

  10. Crater Lake

    LeftHalfway11 mi off the route

    Crater Lake is about 11 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Strong candidate

  11. Mount Shasta

    Either sideThree quarters8 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  12. Lassen Peak

    LeftThree quarters45 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Lassen Peak, about 45 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  13. Golden Gate

    Either sideNear the end6 mi off the route

    Golden Gate sits close enough to SFO that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  14. San Francisco Bay

    Either sideNear the end8 mi off the route

    Whether San Francisco Bay appears comes down to how you come into SFO, which is not something we can know in advance.

    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

711 mi
Great-circle distance
180°
Course out of PAE
180°
Course into SFO
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?

San Francisco → EverettRight 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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