Most lots are situated on a North/South/East/West grid, and as a result the homes are usually oriented in those directions. I bought an existing home on acreage and it was oriented diagonally on the parcel. I cannot say enough how nice the diagonal orientation is. We have sunlight all day long.

The South and East sides will get the most sun, and the coldest wind usually comes from the North or West. Any large expanse of windows, or an area you want to get 2-3 seasons out of (covered patio or porch, etc.) should be on the south or east.

I guess the garage could face any side, but for convenience my preference would probably be on the south facing your dirt road. However, I also prefer house designs that minimize the view of the garage. Some standard house plans look like they built a 3 car garage and tacked a house on the back.

Bruce

Wait - so the East gets more than West? Bruce - explain that to me. Are you saying that there is more cloud cover in the afternoon? I suppose that might be true in VA but not sure about UT.

In the Northern hemisphere, South is the sunniest and the most consistent angle all day long. You don't need to get diagonal to have sun all day long. The great thing about the South is that you put a few feet of overhang and you reduce gain in the summer but still get it in the winter.

Now facing a house - that implies the front of the house. Generally you want the back to the South. But on acreage, it might not matter.

This website lets you put in your location and you can track the sun’s path and angle at various times in the year. We studied it for our location and decided to face our house 30 degrees west of north, which captures the southeastern view of our farm amazingly. We have a 14 wide porch on the back and we still get a TON of natural light.

https://www.suncalc.org/#/40.1789,-3.5156,3/2020.08.03/21:27/1/3

Sounds like you've several potential interesting views. I'd think about the garage on the East field side. You've got varies rooms and spaces to orient around the other viewpoints. The West side can get hot.

Of all those views, mountain sounds the most interesting. As Mark said, it is a balance of views and sun.

Just to add to what I said earlier, South windows are the best from an energy standpoint. They are also the best from a human comfort. We don't want heavy sun in the summer but we sure do in the winter. Though your climate is an unknown to me. Elevation is such a variable.

The other advantage of South is that constant amount of sun - no glaring sun at a certain time of day, just a modest sun all day.

Here in NC, we don't worry about winds.

The garage would appear to be best for convenience (and not blocking the south from the house).

Here in NC, we did the garage on the west because that is where the heat it is and I wanted minimal western sun to the house.

East is nice for morning sun - maybe for bedrooms but maybe not depending on your sleep patterns. Nice for bathrooms though.

To complicate things further, do not have a north facing garage door/ driveway; the snow will never melt.

I'm with armchairshopper - our house faces SW, with living room and family room windows on that side; there's a patio door facing SE. Wonderful sun streaming in all winter; much less in the summer (when sun rises and sets in the NE and NW). No windows on the NW side, where our winter prevailing winds come from.

Living in North Dakota, I also agree with ulisdone - may parents' house faced north, and many Easter weekends were spent chipping a 3" layer of ice from in front of the garage.

If your house is not rectangular - shaped like an L, T, C, for example - you can get more rooms with beautiful views.