Things to Do and See at Mt. St. Helens

Getting There: Access to the monument is via automobile. Portland International (which is closer) and SeaTac (Seattle) airports serve the monument region, with car-rental services available at both.

Location: This southwest Washington monument lies a one-hour drive east of Interstate 5. Park entrances are via Woodland (exit 21 off I-5) from the southwest; Castle Rock (exit 49 off I-5) from the northwest; Randle (Forest Road 25 from its junction with U.S. 12) from the northeast and Carson (Forest Road 30) from the southeast.

Size: Visitors should allow one to two days minimum to tour this 110,000-acre monument, managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

Visitor Center: The off-site visitor center is five miles east of Castle Rock off I-5, on Washington 504. Center offerings include a 10-minute slide program, illustrations, participatory displays and a walk-through interpretive model. Summer hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Winter hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, except Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Maps and activity schedules (printed in the Volcano Review) are available at the Visitor Center and along monument accesses at Yale, Pine Creek and Iron Creek information stations.

Service Centers: All food, gas and lodging must be acquired outside the monument. Nearby communities offering services are Castle Rock, Cougar and Randle. Woodland and the Longview-Kelso area are larger service centers, lying slightly farther from monument borders.

Accommodations and Dining: Area lodging consists of small, family-operated motels, with prices of rooms $30 to $45, double occupancy. Family-style restaurants, grocery delis and small fast-food drive-ins offer inexpensively priced meals.

Campgrounds: Pacific Power and Light, Forest Service, state park and private campgrounds serve visitors. Site fees $4 to $12.

Helicopter Tours: Tours operate out of Cougar and Toutle, Wash., Memorial Day through Labor Day. The 30-minute flights cost $65 per person for three people, $60 per person for four, with a $195 minimum flight fee.

For additional trip planning information, contact:

Mt. St. Helens Visitor Center, 3029 Spirit Lake Highway, Castle Rock, Wash. 98611-9719, (206) 274-6644, or Regional Tourism Information, P.O. Box 876, Longview, Wash. 98632, (206) 425-1211. Also, Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument Headquarters, (206) 247-5473.