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St. Louis → Portland

STL–PDX · St. Louis Lambert International Airport to Portland International Airport

Best bet

Either side

Both sides workThe two sides come out close to level.

Both sides have something going for them, and the totals come out close enough that picking one would be a coin flip with extra steps.

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.

STL to PDX: 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.STLPDXLEFT SIDERIGHT SIDE12345678910
Distance from the route is to scale (up to 90 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. Yellowstone Lake

    RightThree quarters16 mi off the route

    Yellowstone Lake is about 16 miles off the right, about three quarters of the way.

    Good possibility

  2. Grand Teton

    LeftThree quarters38 mi off the route

    About three quarters of the way, Grand Teton sits roughly 38 miles to the left.

    Good possibility

  3. Hells Canyon

    RightThree quarters19 mi off the route

    Look right about three quarters of the way for Hells Canyon, about 19 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  4. Wallowa Mountains

    Either sideThree quarters2 mi off the route

    Wallowa Mountains passes almost directly beneath about three quarters of the way, which is the one place a window seat can't help you.

    Good possibility

  5. Mount Adams

    RightNear the end47 mi off the route

    Late in the flight, Mount Adams sits roughly 47 miles to the right.

    Distant possibility

  6. Mount Hood

    LeftNear the end11 mi off the route

    Look left late in the flight for Mount Hood, about 11 miles out.

    Strong candidate

  7. Mount Jefferson

    LeftNear the end60 mi off the route

    Mount Jefferson is about 60 miles off the left, late in the flight.

    Distant possibility

  8. Columbia River Gorge

    RightNear the end11 mi off the route

    Whether Columbia River Gorge appears comes down to how you come into PDX, which is not something we can know in advance.

    Runway dependent

  9. Mount Rainier

    RightNear the end90 mi off the route

    Look right late in the flight for Mount Rainier, about 90 miles out.

    Distant possibility

  10. Mount St. Helens

    RightNear the end44 mi off the route

    Mount St. Helens is about 44 miles off the right, late in the flight.

    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

1,704 mi
Great-circle distance
297°
Course out of STL
275°
Course into PDX
8
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?

Portland → St. LouisEither 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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