John Cletheroe's
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Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument, Washington State

Location

Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument is located in south-central Washington State, virtually due south of Seattle.

The Monument can be approached via five separate roads, one from the west, one from the east and three from the south.

Area

Approximately 172 square miles. For comparison, the area of the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England is 147 square miles.

What To See And Do

Background Information

On 18-May-1980 Mount St Helens erupted. The entire top of the mountain was blown away. The cloud of ash and gases reached a height of twelve miles and ash fell over a large area surrounding the mountain. Approximately one cubic mile of rock and ash were disgorged. The eruption killed at least sixty people and destroyed all plant and animal life over an area of about seventy square miles. The height of the mountain was reduced from 9677 feet to 8364 feet. Up to three feet of material was deposited, at a temperature of approximately 660 degrees Fahrenheit and while travelling at 300 mph, as far as 17 miles north of the crater. Lava flows reached five miles north of the crater travelling at 50 to 80 miles per hour with temperatures of 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit. Each lava flow was three to thirty feet deep and deposited as much as 120 feet of material in some places. The northern face of the mountain slid down the Toutle River at speeds of 70-150 mph and buried 23 square miles in as much as 600 feet of mud and debris.

I feel that throughout your visit to this area it is very important to remember the loss of life, the injuries and the devastation caused to peoples' and animals' lives by the eruption of Mount St Helens.

Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument is unusual in being managed by the United States Forest Service.

Western Access Road - Washington State Highway 504

This road is paved along its entire length.

Silver Lake Visitor Centre is located on Washington State Highway 504 about five miles east of its junction with I-5. This was the first official visitor centre to be opened, constructed before the new road closer to the mountain was constructed. This visitor centre provides an extensive amount of information about the eruption and its effect. There is an entrance fee for this visitor centre, but the one fee covers entrance to all the official National Park Service and National Forest Service visitor centres. The National Park Service Golden Eagle Pass provides entry although the standard National Parks Pass may possibly not be sufficient. I think that this visitor centre is run by the National Park Service.

East of its junction with Wa503, Wa504 climbs through the Toutle River Valley. The easternmost section of this road has only recently been constructed and passes over some spectacular bridges as it progresses up into an increasingly desolated and other-worldly landscape.

The second visitor centre on Wa504 is at Hoffstadt Bluff, much closer to Mount St Helens. This visitor centre appears to be operated by Cowlitz County, purely as a commercial venture. It is probably worth a quick stop. Free entrance.

The third visitor centre on Wa504 is the Forest Learning Centre, is run by the Weyerhaeuser Company, who operate commercial forests in the area. While several of the exhibits in this visitor centre stress the company's message, many others are very interesting and worthwhile. This visitor centre is definitely worth a visit. Free entrance.

The fourth visitor centre on Wa504 is the official United States Forest Service Coldwater Ridge Visitor Centre. This Visitor Centre has a number of interesting exhibits and is well worth a visit. Entrance fee.

Coldwater Lake Recreation Area is located below Coldwater Ridge on the shores of Coldwater Lake. This is a day-use area with picnic areas and a boat launch ramp.

Finally, at the end of Wa504, lies the Johnston Ridge Observatory which only opened in May 1997. This building, operated by the United States Forest Service, houses a good range of exhibits including an excellent map with coloured lights which vividly demonstrates the flow of lava and other debris during the eruption. From here an excellent view over the area most devastated by the eruption can be had. Even now the area is largely devoid of vegetation. On a clear day there is also an excellent view of Mount St Helens which is about five miles from here. We felt this was the most interesting of the visitor centres. Entrance fee. Trivia note: players of the computer graphical adventure game "Riven" will recognise this building - it is almost identical in exterior design to that of Gehn's laboratory on Boiler Island.

Eastern Access Road (Forest Roads 26 and 99)

We have not yet explored the eastern access road. As far as I know there are no facilities such as visitor centres on this road. The road leads to Windy Ridge Viewpoint which is only four miles from the mountain. As far as I can tell it appears to be paved along its entire length, however the road is reported as being narrow. This access road is closed in winter and according to one report access via Road 26 is currently closed indefinitely.

Southern Access Roads (Forest Roads 81, 830 and 83)

We have not yet explored these roads. Road 81 leads to Sheep Canyon, Road 830 to Ape Cave and Climber's Bivouac, and Road 83 to Ape Canyon.

I do not know if these roads are paved or not.

The name "Ape" comes from that of a local outdoors group.

Entrance Fee

As at summer 1998 the entrance fee was $8 per person for three days' entrance to all United States National Park Service and United States Forest Service visitor centres within the National Monument. The Golden Eagle Pass is honoured for the driver and all passengers in the same vehicle at all these visitor centres but the standard National Parks Pass may possibly not be sufficient.

Entrance passes can be obtained at any of the United States National Park Service/Forest Service Visitor Centres.

Some Ideas For Places To Stay

There are a number of towns of various sizes in the vicinity. On the western side of Mount St Helens, Centralia and Kelso/Longview are particularly convenient, being on I-5.

In The Area

Mount Rainier National Park

External Links

The Mount St. Helens Web Page - Checked Sep-98.

Pacific Coast Highway

Pacific Northwest Geographical Features

US National Forests and the United States Forest Service

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As with all the other pages on this personal web site, all the information on this page is solely the opinion of the author, who has no connection whatsoever with any of the companies and organisations mentioned other than as an actual or potential customer.

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Most recently modified 1-Mar-05