Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

Portland → Dallas

PDX–DAL · Portland International Airport to Dallas Love Field

Best bet

Left side

Slight edgeEnough to break a tie, not enough to change seats over.

It is close. The left edges it, mostly on Mount Elbert, but the right 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.

PDX to DAL: 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.PDXDALLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011121314
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 96 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

    LeftEarly47 mi off the route

    Mount St. Helens is about 47 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Mount Rainier

    LeftEarly96 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount Rainier sits roughly 96 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Mount Adams

    LeftEarly61 mi off the route

    Look left early in the flight for Mount Adams, about 61 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Columbia River Gorge

    LeftEarly23 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

  5. Mount Hood

    Either sideEarly4 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

  6. Mount Jefferson

    RightEarly42 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Mount Jefferson, about 42 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Great Salt Lake

    RightHalfway40 mi off the route

    Great Salt Lake is about 40 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  8. Wasatch Range

    RightHalfway57 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Wasatch Range sits roughly 57 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  9. Uinta Mountains

    Either sideHalfway3 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  10. Maroon Bells

    Either sideHalfway3 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  11. Mount Elbert

    LeftHalfway16 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Mount Elbert sits roughly 16 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  12. Pikes Peak

    LeftThree quarters44 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Pikes Peak, about 44 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  13. Great Sand Dunes

    RightThree quarters34 mi off the route

    Great Sand Dunes is about 34 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  14. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    RightThree quarters42 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Sangre de Cristo Mountains sits roughly 42 miles to the right.

    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

1,624 mi
Great-circle distance
114°
Course out of PDX
130°
Course into DAL
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?

Dallas → 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.

Keep nerding