Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

Portland → Dallas–Fort Worth

PDX–DFW · Portland International Airport to Dallas Fort Worth 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 DFW: 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.PDXDFWLEFT 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 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

  2. Uinta Mountains

    Either sideHalfway1 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

  3. Maroon Bells

    Either sideHalfway1 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

  4. Mount Elbert

    LeftHalfway19 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Mount Elbert sits roughly 19 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

Show 10 more along the way (Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams, Columbia River Gorge, Mount Jefferson, Great Salt Lake, Wasatch Range, Pikes Peak, Great Sand Dunes, Sangre de Cristo Mountains)

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

  1. Mount Rainier

    LeftEarly96 mi off the route

    Mount Rainier is about 96 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Mount St. Helens

    LeftEarly47 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount St. Helens sits roughly 47 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 Jefferson

    RightEarly42 mi off the route

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

    Distant possibility

  6. Great Salt Lake

    RightHalfway39 mi off the route

    Great Salt Lake is about 39 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  7. Wasatch Range

    RightHalfway55 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Wasatch Range sits roughly 55 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  8. Pikes Peak

    LeftThree quarters46 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Pikes Peak, about 46 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  9. Great Sand Dunes

    RightThree quarters31 mi off the route

    Great Sand Dunes is about 31 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  10. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    RightThree quarters39 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Sangre de Cristo Mountains sits roughly 39 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

1,614 mi
Great-circle distance
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–Fort Worth → 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