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Portland → Austin

PDX–AUS · Portland International Airport to Austin–Bergstrom International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Mount Hood is the main event, and it has company: 3 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.

PDX to AUS: 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.PDXAUSLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 63 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 Hood

    LeftEarly9 mi off the route

    Look left early in the flight for Mount Hood, about 9 miles out.

    Strong candidate

  2. Great Salt Lake

    LeftQuarter in20 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Great Salt Lake sits roughly 20 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  3. Wasatch Range

    LeftHalfway10 mi off the route

    Look left around the halfway mark for Wasatch Range, about 10 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. San Juan Mountains

    Either sideHalfway5 mi off the route

    San Juan Mountains passes almost directly beneath around the halfway mark, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

Show 5 more along the way (Mount Adams, Columbia River Gorge, Mount Jefferson, Arches National Park, Rio Grande Gorge)

Further off the route, closer to an airport, or both. Still in flight order, still numbered to match the diagram.

  1. Mount Adams

    LeftEarly63 mi off the route

    Mount Adams is about 63 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Columbia River Gorge

    LeftEarly26 mi off the route

    Whether Columbia River Gorge appears comes down to how you get out of PDX, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

  3. Mount Jefferson

    RightEarly35 mi off the route

    Mount Jefferson is about 35 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  4. Arches National Park

    RightHalfway16 mi off the route

    Arches National Park is about 16 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  5. Rio Grande Gorge

    Either sideThree quarters2 mi off the route

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

    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

1,714 mi
Great-circle distance
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?

Austin → PortlandRight 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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