Seeing Glacier National Park from a plane6 ★
About 150 glaciers were here in 1850; only a couple of dozen remain. Look for knife-edge ridges, the Going-to-the-Sun Road cut into cliffs, and long glacier-carved lakes like Lake McDonald.
14 of our routes pass it. Montana · rated 8 of 10
The easy pick
Seattle to Kalispell: sit on the left, on the way down.
Which side, by route
| Route | Side | When |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago to Kalispell | Left Best seat for the whole flight: right | on the way down |
| Dallas-Fort Worth to Calgary | Left | 176 min after takeoff |
| Denver to Calgary | Left | 99 min after takeoff |
| Las Vegas to Calgary | Left | 107 min after takeoff |
| Las Vegas to Edmonton | Right Best seat for the whole flight: left | 119 min after takeoff |
| Newark to Vancouver | Right | 255 min after takeoff |
| Phoenix to Calgary | Left | 127 min after takeoff |
| Portland to Amsterdam | Right Best seat for the whole flight: left | 52 min after takeoff |
| Portland to Kalispell | Left | on the way down |
| Salt Lake City to Calgary | Left | 67 min after takeoff |
| San Francisco to Paris | Left | 91 min after takeoff |
| San Francisco to Kalispell | Left | on the way down |
| Seattle to Boston | Left | 48 min after takeoff |
| Seattle to Kalispell | Left | on the way down |
From the real paths of every nonstop on these routes in the last 10 days, at the usual time of day. Where the best seat for the whole flight is on the other side, you'd trade this sight for more elsewhere.
Questions
Which side of the plane do you see Glacier National Park from?
It depends on the direction: the left on most of our routes (11 of 14). The table lists each route's side.
When can you see Glacier National Park from a plane?
Near the airport, on the climb or on the way down, and mid-flight on longer routes: see the table for each route.
Do clouds matter?
Yes. These answers assume a clear day. Within 3 days of your flight, pick your exact flight in the app for the cloud forecast.
More
Flathead Lake McDonald Peak Lake Pend Oreille Calgary Mount Spokane Chicago (ORD) Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Denver (DEN) Las Vegas (LAS) All routes