Skip to content
WanderNerd
Check a flight

Window Seat

San Diego → Minneapolis

SAN–MSP · San Diego International Airport to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Slight edgeEnough to break a tie, not enough to change seats over.

It is close. The right edges it, mostly on Mount Elbert, but the left 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.

SAN to MSP: 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.SANMSPLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011
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. San Jacinto Peak

    LeftEarly38 mi off the route

    San Jacinto Peak is about 38 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Salton Sea

    RightEarly18 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Salton Sea sits roughly 18 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  3. San Francisco Peaks

    RightQuarter in56 mi off the route

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

    Distant possibility

  4. Grand Canyon

    Either sideQuarter in1 mi off the route

    Grand Canyon 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

  5. Lake Powell

    LeftQuarter in25 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Lake Powell sits roughly 25 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  6. Monument Valley

    RightQuarter in18 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Monument Valley, about 18 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Canyonlands

    LeftHalfway37 mi off the route

    Canyonlands is about 37 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  8. San Juan Mountains

    RightHalfway34 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, San Juan Mountains sits roughly 34 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  9. Maroon Bells

    Either sideHalfway2 mi off the route

    Maroon Bells passes almost directly beneath around the halfway mark, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  10. Mount Elbert

    RightHalfway11 mi off the route

    Mount Elbert is about 11 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  11. Longs Peak

    LeftHalfway30 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Longs Peak sits roughly 30 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

1,530 mi
Great-circle distance
50°
Course out of SAN
65°
Course into MSP
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?

Minneapolis → San DiegoLeft 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.

Keep nerding