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San Diego → Washington

SAN–IAD · San Diego International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Salton Sea leads it, with 5 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.

SAN 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.SANIADLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 56 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. Salton Sea

    LeftEarly9 mi off the route

    Salton Sea is about 9 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Good possibility

  2. Sedona red rocks

    LeftQuarter in26 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Sedona red rocks sits roughly 26 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. San Francisco Peaks

    LeftQuarter in56 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for San Francisco Peaks, about 56 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Meteor Crater

    LeftQuarter in23 mi off the route

    Meteor Crater is about 23 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Painted Desert

    LeftQuarter in37 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Painted Desert sits roughly 37 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Petrified Forest

    Either sideQuarter in5 mi off the route

    Petrified Forest passes almost directly beneath about a quarter of the way in, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  7. Sandia Mountains

    RightQuarter in44 mi off the route

    Sandia Mountains is about 44 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  8. Gateway Arch

    LeftThree quarters8 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Gateway Arch sits roughly 8 miles to the left.

    Good 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

2,248 mi
Great-circle distance
68°
Course out of SAN
92°
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 → San DiegoRight 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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