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Phoenix → Denver

PHX–DEN · Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Denver International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Painted Desert is the main event, and it has company: 5 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.

PHX to DEN: 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.PHXDENLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 55 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. Petrified Forest

    RightQuarter in20 mi off the route

    Petrified Forest is about 20 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  2. Painted Desert

    LeftQuarter in11 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Painted Desert sits roughly 11 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  3. Canyon de Chelly

    LeftHalfway17 mi off the route

    Look left around the halfway mark for Canyon de Chelly, about 17 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Shiprock

    LeftHalfway13 mi off the route

    Shiprock is about 13 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  5. San Juan Mountains

    LeftThree quarters22 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, San Juan Mountains sits roughly 22 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  6. Mount Elbert

    LeftThree quarters32 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Mount Elbert, about 32 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Pikes Peak

    RightNear the end35 mi off the route

    Pikes Peak is about 35 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  8. Longs Peak

    LeftNear the end55 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Longs Peak sits roughly 55 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

601 mi
Great-circle distance
40°
Course out of PHX
45°
Course into DEN
8
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?

Denver → PhoenixRight 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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