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San Diego → Portland

SAN–PDX · San Diego International Airport to Portland 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 Whitney, 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 PDX: 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.SANPDXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 78 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 Gorgonio Mountain

    RightEarly47 mi off the route

    San Gorgonio Mountain is about 47 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Mount Whitney

    RightQuarter in16 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Mount Whitney sits roughly 16 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  3. Half Dome

    LeftHalfway25 mi off the route

    Look left around the halfway mark for Half Dome, about 25 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Mono Lake

    RightHalfway8 mi off the route

    Mono Lake is about 8 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  5. Lake Tahoe

    LeftHalfway22 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Lake Tahoe sits roughly 22 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  6. Mount Shasta

    LeftThree quarters78 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Mount Shasta, about 78 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Crater Lake

    LeftThree quarters39 mi off the route

    Crater Lake is about 39 miles off the left, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  8. Three Sisters

    Either sideNear the end4 mi off the route

    Three Sisters passes almost directly beneath late in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  9. Mount Jefferson

    RightNear the end16 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Mount Jefferson, about 16 miles out.

    Good possibility

  10. Mount Hood

    RightNear the end36 mi off the route

    Mount Hood is about 36 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    Good possibility

  11. Columbia River Gorge

    RightNear the end39 mi off the route

    Columbia River Gorge sits close enough to PDX that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

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

934 mi
Great-circle distance
344°
Course out of SAN
340°
Course into PDX
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?

Portland → 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.

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