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Portland → Washington

PDX–IAD · Portland International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport

Best bet

Right side

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

It is close. The right edges it, mostly on Mount Hood, but the left 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 IAD: 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.PDXIADLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 84 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

    LeftEarly41 mi off the route

    Mount St. Helens is about 41 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Good possibility

  2. Columbia River Gorge

    Either sideEarly5 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 Hood

    RightEarly18 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Mount Hood, about 18 miles out.

    Strong candidate

  4. Mount Rainier

    LeftEarly84 mi off the route

    Mount Rainier is about 84 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  5. Mount Adams

    LeftEarly38 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount Adams sits roughly 38 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  6. Wallowa Mountains

    RightEarly41 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Wallowa Mountains, about 41 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Hells Canyon

    RightEarly29 mi off the route

    Hells Canyon is about 29 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  8. Chicago skyline

    RightThree quarters23 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Chicago skyline sits roughly 23 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

2,322 mi
Great-circle distance
85°
Course out of PDX
116°
Course into IAD
7
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?

Washington → PortlandLeft 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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