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Portland → San Diego

PDX–SAN · Portland International Airport to San Diego International Airport

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 Whitney, 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 SAN: 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.PDXSANLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 78 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. Columbia River Gorge

    LeftEarly39 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

  2. Mount Hood

    LeftEarly36 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount Hood sits roughly 36 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  3. Mount Jefferson

    LeftEarly16 mi off the route

    Look left early in the flight for Mount Jefferson, about 16 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Three Sisters

    Either sideEarly4 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  5. Crater Lake

    RightQuarter in39 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Crater Lake sits roughly 39 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Mount Shasta

    RightQuarter in78 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Mount Shasta, about 78 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Lake Tahoe

    RightHalfway22 mi off the route

    Lake Tahoe is about 22 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  8. Mono Lake

    LeftHalfway8 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Mono Lake sits roughly 8 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  9. Half Dome

    RightThree quarters25 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Half Dome, about 25 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Mount Whitney

    LeftThree quarters16 mi off the route

    Mount Whitney is about 16 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  11. San Gorgonio Mountain

    LeftNear the end47 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, San Gorgonio Mountain sits roughly 47 miles to the left.

    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

934 mi
Great-circle distance
160°
Course out of PDX
164°
Course into SAN
9
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?

San Diego → 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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