Mt St Helens

Mt St Helens should be on everyone's bucket list. Talk about a force of nature! If you know the history about Mt St Helens and how it is an active stratovolcano and the destruction it cost in 1980 you will appreciate it even more. I always say, no picture or words can describe it. Go experience it for yourself.

I was really young when Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980. I have vague memories of my parents watching the news report about it on TV. Mount St. Helens is the most active volcano in the contiguous United States and is located in the Pacific Northwest region. Its major eruption was on May 18, 1980 and killed fifty-seven people. Many homes, railways, bridges and highways were destroyed. The eruption was a lateral eruption that reduced its summit by over a thousand feet and left a one mile crater. Even though scientists predict eruptions in the distant future, Mt. St. Helens is a popular hiking spot and tourist attraction. It is also a climbing destination for both beginning and experienced mountaineers. It was established as a national monument in 1982. I first saw this volcano on a high school bus trip up the Western coast. I was in Washington recently and wanted to check it out again. I was able to see this stratovolcano from the Windy Ridge Viewpoint area. The lookout point is only five miles away from Mount St. Helens. It is very scenic and has a number of hiking trails. You can get a close-up view of the volcano's crater and panoramic views of the landscape that radically changed after the eruption and landslide. I took the hour-long winding road from Randle, WA to Windy Ridge. You can see other mountains in the distance like Mount Hood, Mount Adams and Mount Rainier on the drive over. There are lots of beautiful viewpoints and other sites of interests on the way. Spirit Lake is also on the drive and has all sorts of floating logs in it from trees that swept into the lake during the eruption.

Mount Saint Helens is a must see. The beauty and history is unmatched. It's a great place to spend the day.

Incredible. Breathtaking. Stunning. A force to be reckoned with. Just when you think you know this mountain, it reminds you that you don't. I've summated it twice now. Once in the summer and once in winter. Both completely diverse in different experiences. Both require caution and planning. Obviously during the summer months it is more frequented by people. During the winter months you'd better know what you're doing. Bring the proper gear, hydrate and be ready for the unexpected. I think everyone remembers or has heard about the event in 1981 Mount Saint Helens volcano erupted. The damage it did is still very visible to this day. However there's a certain beauty within that. Spirit Lake still holds the reminders of thousands of logs that still remain within the expanded lake. If you get a chance ape cave is absolutely worth the hike.

I'm writing specifically about the Windy Ridge Interpretive Site, located to the northeast of Mt St Helens. It is an amazing viewpoint, but, as of summer 2024, please do your homework if you are thinking about visiting. For us, coming from the Portland area, we've traditionally left I5 at Woodland, and taken visitors to Ape Caves and/or Lava Canyon on the way to Forest Road 25, up the east side of Mt St Helens. As of 2024, a sizeable piece of Rt 25 is closed due to a landslide, and will remain closed until 2025 at the earliest. Currently, the only way to get to Windy Ridge is to continue north of Winlock on I5, and take Rt 12 eastbound, where you'll get on Forest Road 25 in Randle. Once you've found an open road, your troubles aren't over - both Forest Road 25, and Forest Road 99 that takes you the last 16 miles to Windy Ridge, are in need of repair in multiple places. The last 35 miles of the trip take well over an hour to navigate. That being said, the experience of driving through the blast zone, and getting to walk over hillsides with a view directly into the crater is not to be missed. Over 40 years after the eruption, it's amazing to see the results of what happened in 1980. It's the closest you'll ever come to walking on the moon. Also as of 2024, the restrooms at Windy Ridge are closed. So, don't expect any amenities - you'll find those at the visitor's centers closer to I-5. But, at least one of those is currently closed due to a landslide blocking that road.

[Review of summitting Mt St Helens] // PERMIT - You need a permit April 1-Oct 31 to hike to the summit. We saw a few spots open on a Wednesday in Aug and decided to go! They cost $18 pp with fees. I believe you can cancel/reschedule prior to printing out the permit, excluding the fees. https://www.recreation.gov/permits/4675309 - May 15-Oct 31 there's a limit of 110 climbers per day, which was great because there were quite a few moments we were alone hiking and it was very peaceful // DRIVE/ PARKING TO THE TRAILHEAD - Driving from PDX, it's a 1.5 hr drive that's windy and dark at 25-50 mph. It was pretty tough, especially because we started driving at 4:30am. - Once you enter the park, there's a 2-3 mi stretch of unpaved gravel road to get to Climber's Bivouac that I drove 5-10mph because there were some rugged spots. But the car came out fine - just have to go super slow - I had purchased America the Beautiful interagency card from REI and put that on my dashboard. Otherwise, you can purchase a $5 day pass at the parking lot (you put $5 cash into an envelope and slit it into a box) or online. Or if you have the annual forest park pass, you put that on - At 6am, the parking lot was 60-70% full. We found a spot next to the map/signage. - There is 1 vault toilet but there was no toilet paper. // THE CLIMB - PHASE 1 FOREST - This is the easiest part of the hike and shaded. It's also a gradual incline. - The markers are bright blue diamonds nailed to trees. // THE CLIMB - PHASE 2 BOULDERS - Once you exit the forest, you'll see a sign that says, "Permit required beyond this point." - You will be scrambling through miles of boulders. This is where your gardening/ work gloves will come in handy. - It was difficult to know where the trail was - even when the markers (wooden poles) marked where to go. // THE CLIMB - PHASE 3 SAND - This is the worst part of the hike. We were already to tired from climbing through rocks. Imagine trying to walk through sand you find on a beach at an incline. It was terrible, to say the least. - Poles are great to have here (we saw 80-90% with poles throughout the hike) - Neck gaiters and sunglasses help to keep the sand out of your eyes and mouth. // THE SUMMIT - The view is amazing and totally worth it. The "true summit" is towards the left, you climb a little to view the entire crater. We saw a couple celebrating with champagne and a picnic. - It was quite windy at the top and a bit chilly. // DESCENT/ TOTAL TIME - We started hiking at 6:30am. We summitted at 1:30pm. Ascent = 7 hrs - We started our descent at 2pm. Arrived at the parking lot 8:30pm. Descent = 6.4 hrs - The descent was also treacherous because our legs were so tired. There's an easier sandy trail that you can take instead of traversing through boulders again. - We took many breaks - By the time we were in the forest part again, it was growing dark. We didn't see anyone. // WHAT TO PACK - Water (2.5L wasn't enough) - Neck gaiter (to keep sand out) - Gaiter (for your feet. Game changer for keeping rocks & sand out when you're descending) - Hiking poles (made it easier to hike through the sand - I didn't bring any but wished I had) - Food (we ate maybe 4 protein bars each throughout the day - Sunscreen (we still got burnt. the sun is harsh - make sure to reapply every 1.5 hrs or so) - lip balm w/ SPF - Hat - gardening/ work gloves ( A MUST) // WHAT TO WEAR - In late Aug, it was pretty warm. Even though the high was 70ish and then at the summit 55 degrees, I was wearing a tank top the whole hike up with long hiking pants (they were convertible so I took off the bottom portion but then was subject to getting scuffed up by the rocks). I had a long sleeve shirt that I put on at the summit.

What can I Say, beautiful views, parking is fairly easy, you can overlook the lake & river from above @ the science center. Lots to see and the mountain is gorgeous on a very sunny day and the list goes on.

I spent a few hours - half a day exploring Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. It was a real simple journey for me. Basically it was a leisurely drive through and along the grounds until I arrived at the viewing pinnacle of Johnston Ridge Observatory. Once here, I got out of my car and was afforded panoramic views of Mt. St. Helens free standing in the distance along with the rugged terrain where lava once flowed down during an eruption from back in 1980. Here at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, the air was fresh and crisp and there were really nice moments to walk around and snap pictures of the scenic landscape from multiple viewpoints and overlooks. During the day I visited in September, the top of Mt. St. Helens was covered in fog, but I was still able to view it for the most part with some snow covering and capping the peak. And, the land surrounding this enormous volcano was still grey and brownish....sort of reminiscent of a barren countryside still suffering the effects of the last eruption that destroyed the area's natural beauty. Overall, it was still very humbling to gaze out towards Mt. St. Helens and be in the presence to appreciate such a powerful natural wonder. Then I went inside Johnston Ridge Observatory where I was able to pick up little gifts and souvenirs from my time at this extraordinary national monument. Also, I stuck around and watched 2 different park films that gave insight into Mt. St. Helen's past and how it came to be such a high profile landmark. I believe you can do some hiking here outside of the observatory but after getting some great pictures of Mt. St. Helens, I was content with continuing along my itinerary south towards Oregon and eventually Crater Lake National Park. I was a fan of Mt. St. Helens National Monument and casually driving the road towards Johnston Ridge Observatory. What's most convenient about visiting this unique volcano is that it's situated right near a bunch of highly worthwhile parks and attractions including Mt. Rainier NP, NorthWestTrek Wildlife Park and Olympic NP.

when i visited mount st Helens ERUPPTED on me and i just barely escaped but it was an excillirating thrill would come again

Mount St Helens is the first glacial mountain I ever climbed. I've also hiked the entire Loowit trail along with many of the other trails in the park. Love this place! Been visiting Coldwater Lake for as long as it's been open. It used to be a well kept secret but in more recent years it's become difficult to experience the serene experience that it once was due to it's increasing popularity. The Rangers and park staff are awesome as is almost always the case in National reserves. They do "require" a national pass but that requirement is rarely enforced and I've never seen it enforced any place other than at the Johnston Observatory. I am so thankful that the Park Service is so committed to monuments like this one. Been coming here for many, many years and hope to do so for a long time to come.

Before my time in the Northwest there were more than several pointy mountains in view from Portland. St Helens was one about 60 miles NNE of Portland in Washington's Gifford Pinchot national forest. In 1980 it had a volcanic eruption that created a huge crater. The now flat topped mountain is easily visible from Portland today. There is climbing and there is climbing. One is a strenuous walk up. The other is technical: teams, ropes, safety, tools. Mt St Helens is a walk up when dry and generally non-technical in snow. I cannot stress this enough, when you get to the top, which is likely snow or glacier covered year round, you are in the technical realm at the edge. If you want to look down and photograph the crater, which obv is the point, you will be on a cornice of volcanic sand and snow that could easily collapse. It's several thousand feet down. Set up anchors and belays. It has collapsed and there have been climbers who fell a great distance and had to be rescued from that situation. They lived, thankfully, but no guarantees. It's easy to find your way up, just keep walking towards the horizon. But it is seriously hard to find your way back down to your exact vehicle location. GPS tools which work disconnected from the cell phone network are a must! Permits and check in/out/friends/emergency contacts is a good strategy should you have a problem. In-person permits available at http://www.yelp.com/biz/lone-fir-resort-cougar. Want to hike an active volcano, making a new peak and occasionally sending up steam? Climb Mt St Helens! (Yelp is street address and zip code oriented. Odd public lands have neither...)

Truly amazing!! While my father has been visiting for the week I have had the privilege of visiting some of the most breathtaking areas in the Pacific Northwest. Today we ventured to Mt Saint Helens National Monument. We stopped at the Visitor 's Center just east of I-5 on exit 49. There is a $5 fee to tour the exhibits and watch the documentary film in the theater. We learned a great deal about Mt Saint Helens and the eruption of 1980. After leaving the Visitor Center we continued East to the National Monument. We were in complete awe of the majestic volcano. It is very hard to fathom the severity of the eruption and the massive landslides created by it. One can only wonder what it was like to be there. The area is healing slowly and evidence of mother nature's ability to persevere is very apparent.

08/28/11 (Last Visited) The drive up to Mt. St. Helens itself is outstanding. The site has Forest Learning Center which is located inside the blast zone of Mount St. Helens. It's displays and exhibits focus on the geology and natural history of the park and forests. Johnston Ridge Observatory offers a great 20-minutes movie for the eruption of the volcano, has many displays, gift shop, ranger tours. Outside is an observatory deck offering excellent views of the volcano in a clear day where we listened to an interesting ranger talk as the volcano vented gasses in the background. Make sure to watch for Roosevelt Elk. We saw several. Take your time reading the explanatory text around the photos as they provide greater perspective for the events of 1980. Stunning views, amazing story and something that should not be missed between Seattle and Portland. Make sure that you fill gas and have enough food and water with you. It is not a short ride from the main highway to get there, but the views and the countryside are worth it. As I said, go if you have the opportunity. We really enjoyed our visit and spent a good portion of the day here.

And BOOM goes the mountain... Mount St. Helens is an explosive part of Washington and American history. Anyone alive during the major 1980 eruption will never forget it. For those born since, they will barely believe it. Both are reasons that Mt. St. Helens is a must see stratovolcano in Western and Southwest Washington More about the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument: * Monument Pass required Adult: $8 * 15 and younger: free * Located in the 1.3 mil acre Gifford Pinchot National Forest * Johnston Ridge Observatory is the closest visitor center * Be sure to watch the video ... and wait til the end * It's only open mid-May - October. * Coldwater Science and Learning Center is open weekends during Winter * 200 miles of trails offer exploration & views * Make time for Coldwater Lake with paved trail * Loowit Trail can take you all the way around the mountain * Hummocks Trail is short (2.8 mi) & easy * Harmony Trail takes you to "Spirit Lake" * Plan accordingly for safety * Pets are prohibited at ALL recreation sites & trails * Great Viewpoints: Loowit, Castle Lake, & Elk Rock * You can skip the $5 Visitor Center near Silver Lake unless you want to get a map for the drive up the mountain. The amazing scenery of Mount St. Helens gives you a chance to explore the destructive and restorative power of Mother Nature that is sure to impress young and old alike.

If you're anywhere between Seattle and Portland and you don't take this detour, you're not living the American dream. Everything is breathtaking, there is plenty to stop and see without having to be a serious hiker or spend days in the wilderness (which you can also do!). Pictures do the landscape more justice than words ever will, and I'm so so so glad we took part of our day to stop and climb around/take photos. After all, you never know when the next eruption will be, so you'd better take advantage while you can.

Have now hiked Mount St. Helens 3 times and I think I've hit my limit. It's very fun - start by camping in Climber's Bivouac (don't forget your parking permit!), then hiking before sun-up so that you can get to the top before it's terribly hot. At a leisurely pace, it took us about 6 hours to get all the way to the summit. Then another 2-3 hours back down. Bring lots of sunscreen, water, warm clothes, and be prepared for bouldering up and down the mountain. This hike is very hard but lots of fun.

If you have the chance and are in reasonably good shape this is an amazing adventure. I highly recommend going with someone who knows the mountain, but you could manage without. Take lots of water, micro spikes, snacks, and hiking poles. If you go in the spring be ready to use lots of clothing layers as you'll get hot then cold then wet. Also be ready to glacade down the mountain if you have enough snow. This is the best part. I have not hiked in the summer, but I've heard it's much harder and there is no glacade.

I've been to Washington state on vacation several times and never made it to Mt St Helen's. This year we made the move and live in the Olympia area. I have always wanted to go here. The high volcanoes in the state are so awe inspiring. Just amazing how far they can be seen. We took the drive to Mt St Helen's and was amazed at the scenery. We stopped at the visitors center and walked around the lake before making the drive to the viewing center. Beautiful drive. Pictures never do these mountains or volcanoes justice. During the drive, there is points when you make a turn and the volcano makes a spectacular appearance. So we would pull over, in a safe area, lots of snow on our trip and the pull offs were not accessible. Couple spots were it was manageable as snow had been cleared. If seeing this doesn't make you shout, OMG, there is something wrong with you. We didnt stay long at the viewing center. We had our dog with us so couldn't explore much. But we have no regrets. Ready to go back !

Eerily amazing! This was a mini weekend getaway for us during the July 4th weekend. Drove to the state of WA from CA to visit this piece of history that happened in my lifetime. Since we didn't have a lot of time we just concentrated on stops to the Visitor Centers and Gift shops along the way. We purchased an Annual Pass on this trip as we always get our money's worth for this $80 pass. We arrived at this place a little too early and the visitor centers were still closed so we worked our way from the Johnston Ridge Observatory on SR 504 and backtracked. From the parking lot we followed the trail up and around while catching magnificent views of the volcano thinking that yikes! if it erupted now we'd have no chance of survival. Inside the observatory building we watched a short film on the history of the eruption. We didn't have to pay the fee since we already purchased an annual pass. After the film the curtain lifted to expose the mighty volcano. It was an awe-inspiring view as you have the north side view of the mountain which was blown away in the eruption! History states that at 8:32 Sunday morning, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted after being shaken by a 5.1 magnitude earthquake. The scars of the lateral explosion it left is seen in parts of our drive in the surrounding landscape. 35 years of legacy by an eruption that lasted for 9 hours. A little trivia: This volcano is well known for its ash explosions and pyroclastic flows. We stopped at the Loowit Viewpoint and Castle Lake Viewpoint to take some photos and get different views of the volcano. Next stop was at the Forest Learning Center (approx 10 miles west of Johnston Ridge Observatory). It is more of a facility that is great resource for schools, research, education and science groups. Still on SR 504 on Spirit Lake Highway our last stop was at the Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center. There is a nice restaurant in this area and they offer helicopter tours to view the crater and Spirit Lake. The tour is approx 25 mins. No hiking for us in this visit, maybe next time, but each year many climbers make the journey to the crater rim. FYI. Permits are required above 4,800 feet year-round. Very impressive and eerily beautiful! Review #0314

Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is a place of eerie majesty. Its major eruption was only 36 years ago, and the land is still recovering. It dwarfs Mt. Lassen's Devastated Area in comparison (the first eruption in the continental US captured on newsreel) In the spring&summer, there are wildflowers where the land is healing. The lava field is more stark&eerie. The land itself still trembles. They're not the California-style temblors of the land gradually adjusting, but the moaning of the volcano itself. One can see the ghostly Spirit Lake, the remnants of petrified trees. It's a place of chilling stillness. A spiritual, haunting place.

We went to Mt.St.Helens, Johnston Observatory, as well as the other observatories on 504. They all had their own unique character and great information. We also went to the other side of the mountain to Windy Ridge. WOW!!!! I'm so glad we went there, too! It was unbelievable!! The trees were still the same as they were when the blast occurred! I seriously couldn't believe my eyes!!! If you make it over to Mt.St.Helen's, you have to go to Windy Ridge to really get the full impact!!! Incredible!!!!

Well, I did it, I summited Mount St. Helens! What an awesome adventure and a beautiful mountain. It's certainly challenging for those with limited mountaineering experience, but it was a great first taste for an aspiring mountaineer like me. Even if you aren't planning on going to the top, it's a beautiful park to visit. Lots of greenery, hiking trails and an awesome visitor center. The history is incredible too, and it's awe-inspiring to see the blown-out mountain.

Wow! I have hit my 3,000th review! Pretty amazing! I never really anticipated that I would use Yelp this long and chronicle so many of my experiences. And to think this all started by seeing a little sticker that said "Yelp" on the door of a pizza place I was going to and I went online to check it out. The rest is history! For these milestone numbers I try and find something that is iconic either to the state I am living in currently or something that is very near and dear to me. Mt St. Helens easily fits both. So for this milestone review it will actually be broken down into four segments since when we went here we saw four different sites and each site has their own Yelp entry. I was aware of Mount Saint Helens that dates way back to when I was a small child. In 1980 I remember when it erupted because not only was it big news my aunt was a big aficionado with National Geographic but all this happened while I was living in Wyoming on my parent's ranch so it all seemed very far away, especially since we were not really impacted that much by the eruption. I was so excited to finally make it to Mount Saint Helens recently! Up on the ridge that oversees the volcano there is some really informative and signage and displays as to how the volcano works and how it looked before the 1980 eruption and what new geographical features emerged after the eruption as well as the communities that were at ground zero of the devastation. There is an awesome observation building here as well where you can go in and gather more info and get in a another good vantage point of the volcano as well as some more info. You can get some more one on one hiking in as well and get much closer to the mountain but you would need to obtain permits to do so. Mount Saint Helens is a gorgeous site to see and if you are a tourist from out of state or out of country or a local coming to this monument is worth many returns!

Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument offers one heck of a great hike/climb for the non-technical (but in-shape) aspiring climber. I just recently conquered this rock and still have the debilitating leg pain to prove it. Permits are required for any climbing above the 4800' level on the south face, and the permits sell out fast. The hike can take from 6-8 hours depending on your speed and your best bet is to start off some time before 930am at the latest. The hike is a nine mile round-trip affair, with an elevation gain of somewhere near 4500'. The first two miles of the hike gain maybe 500 feet of elevation through the trees. When you reach the tree line it goes straight up from there. You enter into a moon-scape rock-fall and cinder ash scree and for the next 2.5 miles you're is treated to a myriad of inclines from almost straight up to straight up to scrambling over boulders (still straight up). Caution is advised as many rocks are unstable and it's a veritable smorgasbord of ankle-breaking action. After a long, arduous trek through the boulder fields you're at the top! Haha, nope. Not even close. You may feel like you've been climbing for hours (you have) and miles (you haven't). There could be commanding views from Monitor Ridge but we were fogged in on our way up so I can't confirm. As the boulders subside, you reach a GPS geologic monitoring station with a cool info plaque (which conveniently leaves out any information as to how high up you are). This is a great spot to rest, recoup and begin your testosterone-fueled macho desire to conquer the rock up the cinder slope This section seems like it's "the last little bit" and that feeling keeps going on, like, forever. This is where the wind starts. The exposed ridge offers few windbreaks and all that sweat you've been accumulating in your clothing from the boulder scramble conducts that cold really well. Layers are key here. You can see your end goal throughout this pitch, which is good. It keeps the ever-incroaching misery from overwhelming you. Especially as the ash gets deep and it turns into an all-out sand dune. Nothing like ending your 4.5-mile straight-up hike with 1000' of fine-as-dust sand dune. If you can survive every increasingly-difficult level of this self-torture, you are rewarded with some incredible views... well I'm sure they're incredible if it's not cloudy. Hey, even if it is cloudy you're likely above the cloud line up here, so it's sunny and beautiful anyway (as it was for us). The rim of the crater is other-worldly and beautiful in its own right. I'm sure the crater and dome are stunning (when not fogged in). You can spot various peaks from this level including Jefferson and Hood. But the biggest reward is your sense of accomplishment. Even when you're beat down, it feels fucking awesome. A windy, sandy, cold kind of awesome. All this, and you're half-way there. See, the down-climb is not only as long and steep as the up-climb, but it's harder since you're going down boulders and your legs are already wasted. But all the way down you can look back up and amaze yourself that you came from all the way up there. If there's snow, you can probably ski or glissade down. We didn't. If you're anything like me, the end of the hike will leave you feeling destroyed and euphorious at the same time. You'll be covered in a crusty mixture of ash, sweat and sunblock, and you probably smell like ass (especially if you camped the night before) but you won't care. The beer you kept waiting for you in your cooler in your car will taste like goddamn unicorn piss. It'll make rainbows come out of your ears. I'm serious. Recommended equipment for this journey: Gaiters Trekking poles (your knees will seriously thank you) Sunglasses (to keep the sun, wind and ash out) Layers (weather can range from wet to dry to windy to sunny to sand-blast) Something wind-proof (for the top) Water (at least 3L - more for big fellas like me) Food/energy. It's a long hike, and you'll burn a lot of cals. Camera (even in bad weather it's beautiful) Gardening gloves (protect your hands from the pumice while scrambling on boulders) Beer (in your cooler in your car, to reward your successful return) Trash bag (if there's snow, you can use it as a sled and save yourself some serious down-climbing) Hat A hiking buddy (to share your misery and egg you on, and to deliriously high-five at the end) This should be on the list for any serious hiker or lover of alpine adventure in the PacNW. I can't say that I have all that much desire to do it again any time soon, but it makes me want to tackle other non-technical mountains in the area... maybe once my legs heal. For now my next monumental challenge is sitting down without tumbling over. And then maybe standing back up again, if I can. Did I mention that my legs hurt? They do. In a very satisfying way. Like the old volcano saying goes... BOOM!

Too cloudy and the boat was a raft instead a pontoon. Very disappointing and ruined the afternoon for our whole party. Should've visited before 1980 when the whole thing was still there. Rainier was alright though, very beautiful mountain! Also, lots of turtles in the lake- look out!

About two years ago, my family and I decided to go explore the south side of the mountain, since the roads to the actual blast site were closed. We ended up finding the Toutle Trail and wowie wowie wowsa, what a strange, spooky, beautiful and terrifying place. After we climbed up to the trail head, Mt St. Helen's was snow-covered and loomed so near that it seemed you could reach out and touch it. It did not seem real. It was so huge, so powerful, and commanded your complete and utter attention, that is until... We hiked a little ways into the lava field and I stopped moving forward when I noticed that there were no sounds from birds, no insects buzzing, no animals scurrying....but only a very low, almost imperceptible sound which seemed did not to have an origin, no matter which way I tilted my head. It seemed to resonate in the air. I was not the only one to hear it, my whole family did and it happened about once per minute. You had to hold your breath to hear/feel it. I stopped and sat down on one of the lava boulders to just take it all in, and noticed that a little puddle of water in one of the lava rocks vibrated jurassic park style at the same time the weird low sound came. ....mini-earthquakes I presume? Well, we left about 1/2 hour after that, and each step got faster and faster because turning my back to the enormous volcano seemed dangerous and wrong somehow. I want to go back.

This is a great day trip. The best side of the mountain is off of I-5. If you try to go in to the East Side, often times it is closed as the forest service is lacksadasical in opening that side. The best views are on the I-5, west side. There is a very simple trail you can take from the Johnston Visitor Center that can go as long as 12 miles up and back if you like. We went as far as spirit lake to see the dead trees still floating in what is left of the lake. You can see the insta-petrified trees and if you go in June-July, you will also get treated to a nice wildflower display that makes the area eerily pretty. If you go to Washington, make sure you hit Mt. St. Helens at least once. We've been there twice.

''I recall seeing and visiting this Beautiful wonder when but a lad. It looked like a giant Snow cone from a distance before it went off ? The lake was so pretty. I camped on it's shores with my scout troop about 1955- 57 I think it probably was? The mountain these days is inaccessible right now other than if you're young and have the ability to do some climbing? I drove up to the rim perhaps a year after it's destruction. The public is blocked anyway now about halfway up? If you want to go up further you pay which I think is terrible? Sad I think too that it has been altered so drastically from the way it was but one must accept that and remember that's all in natures plan of things? What's really most annoying to me is the state has stepped in and built a stupid museum now charging it's stipend to view from the top? 3 stars and I think that is being generous?

Great mountain to climb, but be prepared: this is not just a hiking in the woods. You will need a permit to climb it. It took me 9 hours to go up and climb back down. It is worth it, but, again be prepared

LOL I am actually not quite sure where to put this review but I really wanted to write because THE LAVA CANYONS HIKE IS SO FUN! I think I've just started becoming a hiking enthusiast because never in my life have I felt compelled to write a review... about a mountain. lol. The mountain is byooooootiful. And actually I don't really think the Lava Canyon hike counts as hiking a part of Mt. St. Helens because... we were like miles away... oh well. 10 minutes into the 45 minute drive to the mountains, my friends and I lost signal on our phones and GPS so we were basically blindly driving for a good thirty minutes at least before we saw signs for the several trails leading to the different hikes we saw on http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/seasonal-hikes/summer-destinations/mount-st.-helens-hikes And you guys. The Lava Canyon hike was REALLY FUN! To be honest it was also really scary because half the time you're on a suspension bridge or climbing down a ladder or going across slick bridges over waterfalls or hiking on a foot-wide trail on the side of a giant mountain with a thousand foot drop... but this was the most exhilarating, exciting hike I've ever been on. At one point I was planning out what I would need to do if either one of friends or I slipped and fell off a cliff. Actually I was planning this like the entire time, because literally with every step (there are no guard rails) you might slip and trip and fall. Okay, I'm making this sound super dangerous, but it's not! We saw hikers that looked like they've been on the trail before; they even had two dogs with them that they carried down a 20ft ladder.. one-handed... I would drive the entire 10, 11 hour drive from California to Washington just to do this hike again.

An amazing time on the mountain! Make sure you get your climbing permit if you are going above 4800ft. The mountain is 8,328 feet high and has amazing views of Mt Adams and Mt Hood. Mount St. Helens is a peak that should be on every life list. And because it is an active volcano, it is best not to put it off for too long. Climbing to the crater rim is an opportunity to see not only amazing views in every direction, but to see geology raw, unformed and in its making. The hike is hard, but requires no technical climbing skills Get your permit here: http://www.mshinstitute.org/index.php/climbing/

Accidentally stumbled upon the public lecture....quite entertaining and caught it from the beginning. Awesome views. $5 for the tour inside.

Hard to imagine that there are 200 miles of trails here, but time sure flies I suppose. I can recall sitting in my front room on a Sunday morning in mid-May of 1980. "Daddy, where is Mt. St. Helens?", said my 4 year old daughter. We could see what I always guessed to be about the top 1200' of the mountain from the front room window in Troutdale. But she was right, it was gone from view with the massive ash plume headed, for the most part, east. The trails on St. Helens have a enough variety for almost every level of hiker, even mountain climbers if you're up for that. I've only been on a couple of the hikes, but the variety is amazing. Hummocks is fairly well shaded by youthful alders, but the Coldwater Creek hikes are exposed to lots of sun, so be forewarned and well watered. The wildflowers are still around to a small extent this far into July, but are more abundant earlier in the season. It's a long drive from Portland-Vancouver, so get up early and hit the hike of your choice before the late arriving masses, and the summer heat! :)

We were really pleased that we stopped here, we think it was better than Mt Rainier. It was Just beautiful and we went the back route through Randle, Washington because we were told that the back way was better for nature shots if you didn't care to visit the observatory and we were pleased with our decision because the back way is where you can still see where the volcano exploded. It wasn't busy at all and we felt like the whole mountain was ours! Very educational as well with many observational points along the way with picture opportunities. Amazing!!

I visited the Windy Ridge Observatory. Terrific views of the crater that formed on top of the volcano and spirit lake. There is an overlook area that can be reached by climbing several flights of stairs. It looks intimidating, but is worth the climb. No toll gate was present on the way to this point, so it is possible to go here without paying the park fee. Use the restroom before you go here since the bathrooms here are disgusting and worse that the ones used for marathons. One guy came out and said it looked like someone died in the men's room.

lots of weirdo tourists who don't really walk very far along the path and kind of just turn around very early on once they've taken enough selfies and i wonder if they even know what nature is or if this is their first time leaving the comfort of their own suburb. anyway it's such a sick hike to the volcano and i didn't make it all the way but if i had then i would write more goodbye

When in Washington, this is a must see!! My friends and I stopped here for a day trip. We stopped at the visitor center and Johnston Ridge (great place to check out the volcano if you don't want to hike. First we went on a short hike around Coldwater lake. It was stunning! Lucky for us it was a gorgeous day so the lake was just super blue and clear. The hike is easy to moderate in difficulty (note we did not go the entire distance. Stopped after about 45 mins and headed back). We couldn't see Mt. St. Helens from here, but the hike was nice and lake views were amazing. We also did the 2.3 mile Hummocks trail which had good views of the volcano. Make sure you have plenty of water for this hike as there are some steady inclines. This is a great option if you don't want a super long hike and loops around so you don't have to turn back. I'm sure you could spend weeks exploring all this place has to offer!

This is well worth the trek, wherever you are staying! The beauty from the countryside alone is enough to travel to this amazing site! The various info centers along the way were very interactive, providing a look into the past and a comparison of the great developments happening on the mountain currently. The museum was very neat, and the elk sightings were an extra special addition to the already breath taking scenery of the volcano!