Mt. St. Helens
 

We are planning a 5 day stay in Seattle and would like to see Mt. St. Helens. I have read that it is about 3 1/2 hours each way. How much time would we need there to see a few of the visitor centres and look at the crater? Is this doable in one day without an overnight or is that pushing it?

It is fine for a one-day trip. We went 2 years ago (left Seattle, saw Mt. St. Helens and then on to Portland).

Words can not describe what it feels like to see the volcanic destruction, even after all these years. The area has been left as a natural experiment - they have not reseeded, introduced new wildlife, cut trails, etc - they want to see how nature restores itself. Foot traffic to the area is seriously restricted so as not to disturb these revival - there are 2 visitor's centers which give excellent explanations of both the event and years hence. When we were there, there were also park ranger type people giving talks. One of the standard short movies also gives history, but it is not hokey - actually pretty good.

We think it is worth the trip - even our teenagers were impressed, and they were not even alive at the time of the volcano.

Our only regret was that fog obscured the actual part of the mountain that blew off - from photos it shows that the top of the mountain actually blew off, leaving a flat top.

It is a very long day to go to St. Helens and return to Seattle. Certainly do-able, but if I were you, I would go at least overnight, and link this trip to some other nearby site.

One good choice would be Mt. Rainier and Mt. St. Helens. Rainier is about an hour northeast of St. Helens, depending on which parts of each mountain you want to visit.

Another choice would be St. Helens, then on to Portland or the Columbia River Gorge. There is an interesting backroad route that will take you from the South side of St. Helens to the CRG.

A final, more ambitious trip would be to combine St. Helens with the Olympic Peninsula, a couple of hours northeast of the mountain. Great beach vistas, rainforests, and rugged peaks. This is the one I would choose, particularly if you have never been to the OP before.

Yes this is doable...but you will want to get an early start. When we lived N of Seattle we would go down very early in the morning and return home in the late evening. Very much worth it though! The visitors centers are great, and quite educational. My favorite one is up at Johnston Ridge. The hiking in the area is great too and gives a good upclose look at the effects of the eruption. We lived here in the PNW when the mountain blew and remember it vividly...yet it is still amazing to go see it up close.

It is about a 2 hour drive from Seattle to the first visitor's center for Mt. St. Helens, which is near Castle Rock, off of I-5.

This first visitor's center is at the bottom of the mountain (or not even). It is the first stop of what is an incredible educational tour of a living volcano. To do it right - visit all three National Park Service visitor's centers, go for short hikes, and enjoy a picnic lunch. Be sure to watch the movies or slide shows in the first and third visitor's centers. Count on a 14 hour day, door to door, a day which you will always remember. If you're going in summer, it will be light in Seattle to about 10:30, so you have a long day to enjoy.