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San Diego → Milwaukee

SAN–MKE · San Diego International Airport to Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport

Best bet

Either side

Both sides workThe two sides come out close to level.

Both sides have something going for them, and the totals come out close enough that picking one would be a coin flip with extra steps.

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 MKE: 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.SANMKELEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 49 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. San Jacinto Peak

    LeftEarly47 mi off the route

    San Jacinto Peak is about 47 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Salton Sea

    Either sideEarly6 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  3. San Francisco Peaks

    Either sideQuarter in8 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  4. Grand Canyon

    LeftQuarter in49 mi off the route

    Grand Canyon is about 49 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Painted Desert

    RightQuarter in42 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Painted Desert sits roughly 42 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Canyon de Chelly

    RightQuarter in17 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Canyon de Chelly, about 17 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Shiprock

    Either sideQuarter in2 mi off the route

    Shiprock 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

  8. San Juan Mountains

    LeftHalfway48 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, San Juan Mountains sits roughly 48 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  9. Sangre de Cristo Mountains

    RightHalfway30 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Sangre de Cristo Mountains, about 30 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Great Sand Dunes

    RightHalfway20 mi off the route

    Great Sand Dunes is about 20 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  11. Pikes Peak

    LeftHalfway39 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Pikes Peak sits roughly 39 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

1,736 mi
Great-circle distance
58°
Course out of SAN
76°
Course into MKE
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?

Milwaukee → San DiegoEither 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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