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Seattle → Palm Springs

SEA–PSP · Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to Palm Springs 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 Hood, 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.

SEA to PSP: 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.SEAPSPLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 53 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. Mount Rainier

    LeftEarly11 mi off the route

    Mount Rainier is about 11 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Strong candidate

  2. Mount St. Helens

    RightEarly24 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount St. Helens sits roughly 24 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  3. Mount Adams

    Either sideEarly8 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  4. Columbia River Gorge

    RightEarly17 mi off the route

    Columbia River Gorge is about 17 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Good possibility

  5. Mount Hood

    RightEarly21 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount Hood sits roughly 21 miles to the right.

    Strong candidate

  6. Mount Jefferson

    RightQuarter in42 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Mount Jefferson, about 42 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Three Sisters

    RightQuarter in53 mi off the route

    Three Sisters is about 53 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  8. Mount Whitney

    RightThree quarters42 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Mount Whitney sits roughly 42 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  9. Death Valley

    LeftThree quarters31 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Death Valley, about 31 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. San Gorgonio Mountain

    RightNear the end12 mi off the route

    Whether San Gorgonio Mountain appears comes down to how you come into PSP, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

  11. San Jacinto Peak

    RightNear the end10 mi off the route

    San Jacinto Peak sits close enough to PSP 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

988 mi
Great-circle distance
160°
Course out of SEA
164°
Course into PSP
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?

Palm Springs → SeattleLeft 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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