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Salt Lake City → Anchorage

SLC–ANC · Salt Lake City International Airport to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Great Salt Lake is the main event, and it has company: 4 more worth looking at out the left.

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.

SLC to ANC: 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.SLCANCLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE1234567891011
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 75 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. Great Salt Lake

    LeftEarly10 mi off the route

    Great Salt Lake is about 10 miles off the left, early in the flight.

    Strong candidate

  2. Sawtooth Range

    Either sideEarly7 mi off the route

    Sawtooth Range passes almost directly beneath early in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  3. Hells Canyon

    Either sideQuarter in4 mi off the route

    Hells Canyon passes almost directly beneath about a quarter of the way in, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  4. Prince William Sound

    Either sideNear the end5 mi off the route

    Prince William Sound passes almost directly beneath late in the flight, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Strong candidate

Show 7 more along the way (Wallowa Mountains, Glacier Peak, Mount Baker, the Coast Mountains, Mount Fairweather, the Chugach Mountains, Turnagain Arm)

Further off the route, closer to an airport, or both. Still in flight order, still numbered to match the diagram.

  1. Wallowa Mountains

    LeftQuarter in30 mi off the route

    Wallowa Mountains is about 30 miles off the left, about a quarter of the way in.

    Distant possibility

  2. Glacier Peak

    LeftQuarter in35 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Glacier Peak sits roughly 35 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  3. Mount Baker

    LeftQuarter in28 mi off the route

    Look left about a quarter of the way in for Mount Baker, about 28 miles out.

    Good possibility

  4. the Coast Mountains

    LeftHalfway14 mi off the route

    the Coast Mountains is about 14 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  5. Mount Fairweather

    RightThree quarters75 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Mount Fairweather sits roughly 75 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. the Chugach Mountains

    RightNear the end48 mi off the route

    the Chugach Mountains is about 48 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  7. Turnagain Arm

    LeftNear the end9 mi off the route

    Turnagain Arm sits close enough to ANC that the runway in use and the procedure of the day decide whether it shows up at all.

    Runway dependent

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

2,121 mi
Great-circle distance
7
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?

Anchorage → Salt Lake CityRight 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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