Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

Portland → Atlanta

PDX–ATL · Portland International Airport to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International 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.

PDX to ATL: 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.PDXATLLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 93 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. Mount St. Helens

    LeftEarly45 mi off the route

    Mount St. Helens is about 45 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Mount Rainier

    LeftEarly93 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount Rainier sits roughly 93 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Columbia River Gorge

    LeftEarly14 mi off the route

    Columbia River Gorge sits close enough to PDX that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  4. Mount Hood

    Either sideEarly8 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  5. Mount Adams

    LeftEarly50 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount Adams sits roughly 50 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Mount Jefferson

    RightEarly56 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Mount Jefferson, about 56 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Wallowa Mountains

    LeftEarly21 mi off the route

    Wallowa Mountains is about 21 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  8. Hells Canyon

    LeftEarly40 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Hells Canyon sits roughly 40 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  9. Sawtooth Range

    RightQuarter in36 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Sawtooth Range, about 36 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Grand Teton

    Either sideQuarter in6 mi off the route

    Grand Teton 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

  11. Wind River Range

    RightQuarter in13 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Wind River Range sits roughly 13 miles to the right.

    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

2,168 mi
Great-circle distance
99°
Course out of PDX
124°
Course into ATL
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?

Atlanta → PortlandEither 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