Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Detroit to Denver. Left side wins both ends of the flight. The Detroit River and Windsor on departure are solid urban geography, and the Front Range panorama on approach into Denver from the east is genuinely one of the best arrival views in the US — the entire wall of the Rockies laid out broadside as you descend over the plains.

During takeoff from Detroit City (DET), sit on the Left side for the best views. Detroit City Airport typically departs westbound on runway 33/15 or 27/9. A left-side seat gives you a clear view south over the Detroit River and Windsor, Ontario across the border, with the downtown Detroit skyline visible as you bank westward. The river and the dense urban grid are immediately recognizable. Notable sights include: Detroit River, Windsor Ontario waterfront, downtown Detroit skyline, Belle Isle park in the river.

When landing at Denver International (DEN), sit on the Left side for the best views. Denver International sits northeast of the city, and aircraft typically approach from the east on runway 16R/34L or similar north-south runways. A left-side seat on approach from the east gives you a direct broadside view of the entire Front Range — the Rocky Mountains stretching from Pikes Peak in the south to Longs Peak in the north — as the plane descends over the flat plains. This is one of the most dramatic approach views in the continental US. Notable sights include: Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, Longs Peak, Pikes Peak, Denver city skyline against the mountain backdrop.

The flight from Detroit City (DET) to Denver International (DEN) takes Approximately 3 hours 15 minutes.

The flight tracks roughly west-southwest across the flat Midwest, crossing southern Michigan, northern Indiana and Illinois, then over Iowa and Nebraska. The landscape is almost entirely flat agricultural land — the corn and soybean grid of the Midwest gives way to the drier wheat and rangeland of Nebraska and eastern Colorado. The Missouri River crossing near Omaha is visible as a wide meandering brown river. The terrain stays pancake-flat until the last 100 miles when the high plains begin a barely perceptible rise toward the Rockies. No significant mountain or water features until the Front Range appears on the western horizon roughly 30-40 minutes before landing.