@gorillapaws The solar system is not coplanar and is it a partial angle, and the Earth is tilted on its axis relative to the rest of the solar system (why we have seasons). So at night in the spring time and early summer in the northern hemisphere we look away from the plane of the galaxy. The northern hemisphere angles towards the milky way in mid summer to early winter so that’s the best time to see it.
Constellations to look out for that are “smack dab” in the middle of the Milky Way are Casseopeia and Cygnus, especially Cygnus (the Northern Cross). If you see Cygnus then you’re looking right up into the Milky Way. You can grab a pair of binoculars and see tons of stars, even if the faint glow is not visible to you.
This graphic will show you what I’m talking about. Zoom out and manipulate it until the Milky Way is edge on. Then zoom back in. Or manipulate the solar system so it’s edge on and then zoom out. Works just as well.
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/solar-system/our-solar-system/overview/