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Window Seat

Santa Ana → Des Moines

SNA–DSM · John Wayne Airport to Des Moines International Airport

Best bet

Left side

Strong betOne side has clearly more to look at.

Pikes Peak is the main event, and it has company: 2 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.

SNA to DSM: 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.SNADSMLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 62 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 Jacinto Peak

    RightEarly25 mi off the route

    San Jacinto Peak is about 25 miles off the right, early in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  2. San Gorgonio Mountain

    Either sideEarly4 mi off the route

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

    Good possibility

  3. San Francisco Peaks

    RightQuarter in62 mi off the route

    Look right about a quarter of the way in for San Francisco Peaks, about 62 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Grand Canyon

    Either sideQuarter in5 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  5. Lake Powell

    LeftQuarter in33 mi off the route

    About a quarter of the way in, Lake Powell sits roughly 33 miles to the left.

    Distant possibility

  6. Monument Valley

    Either sideQuarter in3 mi off the route

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

    Strong candidate

  7. San Juan Mountains

    LeftHalfway12 mi off the route

    San Juan Mountains is about 12 miles off the left, around the halfway mark.

    Good possibility

  8. Pikes Peak

    LeftHalfway11 mi off the route

    Around the halfway mark, Pikes Peak sits roughly 11 miles to the left.

    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

1,426 mi
Great-circle distance
61°
Course out of SNA
76°
Course into DSM
5
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?

Des Moines → Santa AnaRight 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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