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Phoenix → Eagle

PHX–EGE · Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport to Eagle County Regional Airport

Best bet

Right side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Painted Desert leads it, with 4 more on the same side.

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 EGE: 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.PHXEGELEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE123456789
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 54 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. Meteor Crater

    LeftQuarter in11 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Meteor Crater sits roughly 11 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  2. Painted Desert

    RightQuarter in16 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Painted Desert, about 16 miles out.

    Good possibility

  3. San Juan Mountains

    RightThree quarters26 mi off the route

    San Juan Mountains is about 26 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  4. Maroon Bells

    RightNear the end20 mi off the route

    Whether Maroon Bells appears comes down to how you come into EGE, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

Show 5 more along the way (San Francisco Peaks, Canyon de Chelly, Monument Valley, Shiprock, Mount Elbert)

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

  1. San Francisco Peaks

    LeftQuarter in54 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks is about 54 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  2. Canyon de Chelly

    RightHalfway18 mi off the route

    Canyon de Chelly is about 18 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  3. Monument Valley

    LeftHalfway41 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Monument Valley sits roughly 41 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  4. Shiprock

    RightHalfway29 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Shiprock, about 29 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  5. Mount Elbert

    RightNear the end42 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Mount Elbert, about 42 miles out.

    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

513 mi
Great-circle distance
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?

Eagle → PhoenixLeft 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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