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San Francisco → St. Louis

SFO–STL · San Francisco International Airport to St. Louis Lambert 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: 5 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 STL: 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.SFOSTLLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 40 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

    RightEarly23 mi off the route

    Early in the flight, Half Dome sits roughly 23 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  3. Mono Lake

    RightEarly10 mi off the route

    Look right early in the flight for Mono Lake, about 10 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. Arches National Park

    RightHalfway28 mi off the route

    Arches National Park is about 28 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    Distant possibility

  5. Maroon Bells

    RightHalfway14 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Maroon Bells sits roughly 14 miles to the right.

    Good possibility

  6. Mount Elbert

    RightHalfway12 mi off the route

    Look right around the halfway mark for Mount Elbert, about 12 miles out.

    Good possibility

  7. Pikes Peak

    RightHalfway34 mi off the route

    Pikes Peak is about 34 miles off the right, around the halfway mark.

    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

1,731 mi
Great-circle distance
77°
Course out of SFO
98°
Course into STL
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?

St. Louis → 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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