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San Francisco → Kansas City

SFO–MCI · San Francisco International Airport to Kansas City International Airport

Best bet

Right side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Mono Lake 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 MCI: 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.SFOMCILEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 57 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 sideEarly1 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

    RightEarly24 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Half Dome sits roughly 24 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  3. Mono Lake

    RightEarly12 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Mono Lake, about 12 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Maroon Bells

    RightHalfway21 mi off the route

    Maroon Bells is about 21 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  5. Mount Elbert

    RightHalfway20 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Mount Elbert sits roughly 20 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  6. Longs Peak

    LeftThree quarters57 mi off the route

    Look left about three quarters of the way for Longs Peak, about 57 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  7. Pikes Peak

    RightThree quarters42 mi off the route

    Pikes Peak is about 42 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    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

1,495 mi
Great-circle distance
77°
Course out of SFO
94°
Course into MCI
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?

Kansas City → 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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