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San Francisco → Albuquerque

SFO–ABQ · San Francisco International Airport to Albuquerque International Sunport

Best bet

Right side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Lake Mead 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.

SFO to ABQ: 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.SFOABQLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 52 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 Francisco Bay

    Either sideEarly3 mi off the route

    San Francisco Bay sits close enough to SFO that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

  2. Half Dome

    LeftQuarter in29 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Half Dome sits roughly 29 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Mount Whitney

    RightQuarter in40 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Mount Whitney, about 40 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Death Valley

    RightQuarter in35 mi off the route

    Death Valley is about 35 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Lake Mead

    RightHalfway23 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Lake Mead sits roughly 23 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  6. Grand Canyon

    Either sideThree quarters7 mi off the route

    Grand Canyon passes almost directly beneath about three quarters of the way, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

  7. San Francisco Peaks

    RightThree quarters52 mi off the route

    San Francisco Peaks is about 52 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Distant possibility

  8. Painted Desert

    RightThree quarters20 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Painted Desert sits roughly 20 miles to the right.

    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

894 mi
Great-circle distance
97°
Course out of SFO
106°
Course into ABQ
6
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?

Albuquerque → San FranciscoLeft 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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