In the summer of 2013, Heather and I spent two days driving around Mount St. Helens. We visited all of the major points of interest — many of which I had not been to since I was a child. The mountain has come a long way toward recovering since it blew up in 1980 but the power of the volcano is still clearly evident wherever you go.
- Lava Canyon – The powerful lahar that ripped down the Muddy River on Mount St. Helen’s southeastern flank scoured out Lava Canyon, revealing old lava flows locked in time.
- Lahar Viewpoint – A view of Mount St. Helens and the incredible destructive force of the lahar that ripped down the southern shoulder of the mountain.
- A Trail of Two Forests – An old lava flow crept around a forest of trees thousands of years ago, casting their trunks in lava. A new forest has grown up in place of the old but the castings of the old forest remain.
- View of Swift Reservoir – After Mount St. Helens blew her top, great floes of debris thundered down the canyons on the south flanks of the mountain and into Swift Reservoir.
- Clearwater Viewpoint – Looking upon Mount St. Helens from the eastern flank.
- Bear Meadows – Our first view of the core of the mountain from the northeast.
- Meta Lake and the Miner’s Car – Devastation reached down from the heart of the mountain to destroy lives, cars, and lakes.
- Cascade Peaks Wayside – A view of Mount Rainier, Mount Hood, Mount Adams, and of course Mount St. Helens.
- Harmony Point and Spirit Lake – When the great wall of hot gas and rock came rushing down from Mount St. Helens, Spirit Lake didn’t fare so well.
- Donnybrook Viewpoint – Getting closer to Mount St. Helens and with other Cascade volcanic peaks watching.
- Windy Ridge – The end of the road on this approach at this side of the mountain.
- Driving Back Down from Windy Ridge – The winding road from Windy Ridge back down to the main forest road has many pretty views.
- Iron Creek Falls – A pretty little waterfall on the north side of Mount St. Helens.
- Forest Learning Center – The Weyerhaeuser-run Forest Learning Center is the first view of Mount St. Helens as you approach from the west.
- Hoffstadt Creek Bridge – An interesting and mighty bridge across a small creek on the way to Mount St. Helens.
- Elk Rock Viewpoint – At the entrance to the park is an outstanding view of the mountain.
- Castle Lake Viewpoint – Looking up at Mount St. Helens and down on Castle Lake.
- Coldwater Lake – A young lake born from the destruction that Mount St. Helens wrought on the Toutle River.
- Hummocks Trail – The guts of Mount St. Helens poured down the Toutle River leaving destruction and desolation but also leaving an interesting area of hummocks created as the glacial remnants melted under the debris field.
- Lowit Viewpoint – An incredible view of the mountain and the destruction it wrought.
- Johnston Ridge Observatory – The closest the general public can get to the heart of the mountain without a permit.
- Science and Learning Center at Coldwater – The nearly abandoned facility at Coldwater used to be as far as people could go on the western road toward the mountain.
- Patty’s Place at 19 Mile House – A diner tucked away on a back road near Mount St. Helens.