Mount St. Helens Two years after the 1980 eruption, Mount St. Helens was left to recover naturally and the National Volcanic Monument was created for research, recreation and education. Decades later the gray, barren landscape flourishes and visitors can spend days hiking, studying at visitor centers and enjoying the scenery.
Mount St. Helens Visitor Center (Silver Lake)
Hoffstadt Bluffs Visitor Center
The first in a series of visitor centers along Spirit Lake Memorial Highway, just five miles off I-5. Approximately 300,000 visitors stop by each year, learning lessons in geology, history and volcanology that include a large, step-in model of the volcano.
Renovated in 2009, the center has expanded exhibits, a gift shop and restaurant. It is one of the largest post and beam structures on the West Coast and houses the Memories of a Lost Landscape Exhibit, which shares the stories of life before the Mount St. Helens blast. There is also a walking path outside that winds through a memorial grove.
9 a.m.-5 p.m. May -September (closed April 13-18 for roof work) $5 adults, $2.50 ages 7-17, $15 per family • 360.274.0962 www.parks.wa.gov/245/Mount-St-Helens-Visitor-Center
9:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Sunday • Free • 360.274.5200 www.hoffstadtbluffs.com
Mount St. Helens Photo by Protik M. Hossain Photo courtesy of Cowlitz County Tourism
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2014-2015 Business Directory & Visitor Guide