Looking for a scenic small town at the gateway to Mount St. Helens? Visit Castle Rock, Washington! Nestled along the Cowlitz River, Castle Rock offers outdoor recreation, volcanic history, and peaceful Pacific Northwest charm. It’s the perfect base for hiking, fishing, or exploring the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
Best Time to Visit
The best time to visit Castle Rock is from late spring through early fall (May–October). These months bring mild weather, blooming wildflowers, and clear skies for hiking and scenic drives to Mount St. Helens.
How to Get There
- By Car: Castle Rock is just off I-5, about 1 hour north of Portland, OR and 2 hours south of Seattle, WA.
- By Air: The closest major airport is Portland International Airport (PDX), about 70 miles south.
- By Train: Amtrak stops in nearby Kelso-Longview; Castle Rock is a short drive away via US-411.
Where to Stay
- Timberland Inn & Suites – Comfortable lodging with easy highway access and clean, quiet rooms.
- Mt. St. Helens RV Resort – RV and tent camping with river access, scenic views, and a family-friendly atmosphere.
- Vacation Rentals – Quaint cabins and riverfront homes available for peaceful, scenic stays.
Recommended Mount St. Helens Tours:
- Seattle: Mt. St. Helens National Monument Small Group Tour – Price: From $344 per person.
- Portland: The Mt. St. Helens Adventure Tour – Spend a full day crawling, climbing, and hiking with your professional guide. Price: From $319 per person.
- From Seattle: Mount Saint Helens Monument Private Day Trip – This private tour starting in Seattle takes you to one of Washington State's five volcanoes. Price: From $391 per person.
Top Attractions
1. Begin Your Volcanic Journey at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center
Rating: ★★★★★
It made sense to start my Castle Rock trip here. The Mount St Helens Visitor Center was opened in order to help educate the visitors to the area about the history of the volcano, and how its recent eruption altered the landscape, wildlife and ecosystems. The center has numerous displays to help with its teaching, from a walk-in model of the St Helens volcano to a live seismograph which monitors and displays the current activity levels of the volcano. There is also a half-hourly theater program. The building itself is built with large glass windows to allow those inside to see the new growth and regeneration of the forests around it.
3029 Spirit Lake Highway, Castle Rock, WA 98611, Phone: 360-274-0962
The drive to Mount St Helens Visitor Center from town takes about 10 minutes (6.1 miles via WA-504 E):
2. Stand in Awe at the Edge of the Crater at Johnston Ridge Observatory
For those wanting to find the ultimate views of Mount St Helens, the Cliffside Johnston Ridge Observatory offers a unique vantage point of the debris from the eruption. It allows visitors to see the entire volcano, including the crater, lava dome as well as the blast zone, in which it is built. The observatory also has available eyewitness accounts from individuals who survived the recent eruption. Theater programs and educational talks and walks are also on offer.
24000 Spirit Lake Hwy, Toutle, WA 98649, Phone: 360-274-2140
Johnston Ridge Observatory is 1 hour from Castle Rock. Take State Route 504 east for 52 miles:
Recommended Activities for Families
3. Drive Through Devastation and Beauty on Spirit Lake Memorial Highway
Following the eruption of Mount St Helens in 1980, the landscape and ecosystems surrounding it were changed irreparably. The previous road on the floor of the valley was engulfed by mudslides at the time of the eruption, and in the aftermath of the disaster, the ground was left too unstable for rebuilding. Thus, a new highway was carved instead into the surrounding hillsides. This ‘memorial highway’ passes directly through the blast zone and gives an incredible opportunity to view the devastation caused by the event, including a unique chance to see the gaping hole in the volcano which collapsed from the sheer power of its eruption.
Spirit Lake Memorial Highway, Castle Rock, WA, Phone: 360-274-5200
4. Discover Nature’s Comeback Story at the Forest Learning Center
Situated just inside Mount St Helens’ blast zone, the Forest Learning Center and is found alongside the wondrous Spirit Lake Memorial Highway. It was built by the Weyerhaeuser Company with the intention of keeping the story of the forest’s destruction by the 1980 eruption, and its subsequent rebirth, alive. It offers a highly immersive walk-through experience, where visitors can get a real feel for the events that panned out that day. The first room features the moments immediately prior to the eruption, and the second then shows the ravaged landscape that was left in the aftermath. A real-life account from a local news reporter brings the entire experience to life. Meanwhile, the second half of the experience shows how the forest recovered, with life sized models and exceptional photography depicting the scale of the recovery project.
17000 Spirit Lake Hwy, Toutle, WA 98649, Phone: 360-414-3439
5. Hike Among Blast-Shaped Hills on the Hummocks Trail
Winding its way between the peculiar hill formations left in the wake of Mount St Helens’ eruption, the Hummocks Trail is a gentle and relaxing hike. The easy-to-navigate terrain makes it suitable for both little legs and adults alike. Elk, waterfowl, frogs and newts—the descendants of survivors of the eruption—call the area home, and sightings of these species are common. The first quarter-mile stretch of the trail is also marked with interpretive signs, which allow for the identification of certain notable features.
Milepost 45, Mount St. Helens, Castle Rock, WA
6. Camp Beneath the Canopy at Seaquest State Park
Seaquest State Park is set on 505 acres of revived forestland which surrounds Mount St Helens. It offers campers seven miles of beautiful hiking trails, including one mile of ADA approved routes. The park borders on the Spirit Lake Memorial Highway and is neighbors with the Mount St Helens Visitor Center, making it the ideal base for exploration and discovery of the area. The park also offers nearby seasonal activities such as boating, fishing and swimming, and has access to its own volleyball field, horseshoe pits, play areas, amphitheater and bird watching bases.
Seaquest State Park, 3030 Spirit Lake Highway, Castle Rock, WA 98611, Phone: 360-274-8633
Attractions for Couples
7. Trek the Rim of a Volcano on Loowit Trail #216
Not a hike for the faint hearted, Loowit Trail #216 features incredibly rough and rugged rocky terrain around the bases of Mount St Helens. This unique hike allows you to experience the full effects of the eruption and witness for yourself the forest’s resilience and determination to recover, even in the trickiest of conditions. The trail is 30 miles long in its entirety, split up into seven sections, and this allows for plenty of time to get a feel for the truly wild landscape.
Loowit Trail #216, Castle Rock, WA
8. Explore a Creationist Perspective at Mount St. Helens Creation Center
Religious folk who find it hard to reconcile the Christian story of creation with the overwhelming scientific evidence to support the Big Bang Theory will benefit from visiting the Mount St. Helen’s Creation Center. The center exists to showcase evidence that the world is indeed much younger than the Big Bang theory would lead us to believe. You will see scientific evidence of many recent geological processes which we have always believed took place over thousands of years, but are in fact far more recent. Whether or not you subscribe to the Christian belief of Genesis or the scientific Big Bang theory and evolution, a visit to the Mount St. Helen’s Creation Center is a thought-provoking experience.
Mount St. Helen’s Creation Center, 147 Front Ave NW, Castle Rock, WA 98611, 360 274 5737
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