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San Francisco → Dallas–Fort Worth

SFO–DFW · San Francisco International Airport to Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Good betA real difference, not a rounding error.

Grand Canyon leads it, with 5 more on the same side.

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 DFW: 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.SFODFWLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 46 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

    LeftEarly25 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Half Dome sits roughly 25 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Mount Whitney

    RightQuarter in46 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for Mount Whitney, about 46 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Death Valley

    RightQuarter in43 mi off the route

    Death Valley is about 43 miles off the right, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  5. Lake Mead

    RightQuarter in35 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Lake Mead sits roughly 35 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Grand Canyon

    RightHalfway21 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Grand Canyon, about 21 miles out.

    Strong candidate

  7. Lake Powell

    LeftHalfway42 mi off the route

    Lake Powell is about 42 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  8. Painted Desert

    RightHalfway38 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Painted Desert sits roughly 38 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  9. Canyon de Chelly

    LeftHalfway13 mi off the route

    Look left around the halfway mark for Canyon de Chelly, about 13 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Sandia Mountains

    RightThree quarters9 mi off the route

    Sandia Mountains is about 9 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    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

1,461 mi
Great-circle distance
95°
Course out of SFO
110°
Course into DFW
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?

Dallas–Fort Worth → 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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