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Seattle → Fort Myers

SEA–RSW · Seattle–Tacoma International Airport to Southwest Florida International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Mount Rainier is the main event, and it has company: 4 more worth looking at out the right.

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 RSW: 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.SEARSWLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 69 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. Glacier Peak

    LeftEarly62 mi off the route

    Glacier Peak is about 62 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. Mount Rainier

    RightEarly31 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Mount Rainier sits roughly 31 miles to the right.

    Strong candidate

  3. Mount Adams

    RightEarly69 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Mount Adams, about 69 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Hells Canyon

    RightEarly37 mi off the route

    Hells Canyon is about 37 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  5. Yellowstone Lake

    LeftQuarter in37 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Yellowstone Lake sits roughly 37 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Grand Teton

    RightQuarter in18 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Grand Teton, about 18 miles out.

    Strong candidate

  7. Wind River Range

    RightQuarter in25 mi off the route

    Wind River Range is about 25 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Good possibility

  8. Tampa Bay

    LeftNear the end27 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Tampa Bay sits roughly 27 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

2,621 mi
Great-circle distance
109°
Course out of SEA
134°
Course into RSW
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?

Fort Myers → 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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