Did you know that one of the most iconic active volcanoes in the United States is less than 100 miles from Portland, Oregon? Mount St. Helens last erupted in 1980, but the effects of that eruption are still visible today. Don’t worry… the volcano didn’t erupt while I was there!
I knew last week that this vacation was going to be very different from the one I had been planning for, but I also knew there were some interesting sites to see that would keep me outdoors and not too far from Portland. I set off around 8AM heading north to Castle Rock, Washington on Interstate 5. Despite my early start, I didn’t make it to the Johnston Ridge Observatory until after noon. Why so long? There are countless pull offs and viewpoints along the way and I stopped at just about all of them!
State Highway 504 leads from I-5 all the way to Johnston Ridge Observatory and is referred to as the Spirit Lake Highway. My first stop was just 5 miles from the interstate at the Silver Lake Visitor Center. I picked up a map of the area and then took the one-mile Wetland Haven Trail around the wetland area surrounding Silver Lake. From the trail, Mount St. Helens is visible in the distance, some 50+ miles away.
Unfortunately, the drive from Interstate 5 to the observatory goes west to east, so the sun wasn’t at a great angle for pictures on my way. Nevertheless, I stopped at several of the viewpoints and took some pictures of the mountain as it got closer and closer.
Highway 504 ends at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, 6 miles away from the summit of Mount St. Helens. Thanks to my America the Beautiful pass, I was able to get in for free and walk the plaza and trails at the observatory. I started out on the Eruption Trail, which climbs up to a birds-eye view of the mountain. There are tons of wildflowers in bloom this time of year which makes a nice contrast to the otherwise dry terrain.
I walked about a mile down the Boundary Trail before turning back toward the parking lot. I was starting to get tired and knew I had had my fill for the day. Plus, it was a two hour drive back to Portland. I’m thankful I made so many stops on my way to the observatory this morning because I was too tired to stop anywhere on the way back.
After a week of ordering meals from DoorDash, it was a good feeling to go through the Burgerville drive thru in Woodland, WA on my way back to Portland. Burgerville seems to be a Northwest Oregon/Southwest Washington institution and is a small chain of typical fast food burger joints. The burger I had was actually pretty good (complete with Burgerville’s special spread), but the raspberry shake was to die for with fresh raspberries mixed with sweet cream ice cream. I won’t be upset if another one of those ends up in my stomach before I go home – a delicious end to the day!
Traveling with Laura 