Things to do in

Castle Rock, Washington

Mount Saint Helen's is a volcano that forever lives in the minds of Americans and the world. During the events that surrounded the 1980 eruption, lives changed in an instant, and the mountaintop's geography was forever altered. Today, you can experience this unique volcano and all the flora and fauna that makes this impressive reforestation project so dramatic. You will arrive with your guide to the blast-zone, just 5 miles from the crater at the Johnston Ridge Observatory. Here, you can snap some photos of the mountain while your naturalist tells the story of that fated day. You'll also learn interesting and unique facts about this and other volcanoes and their ever-changing faces. After being outside, you'll head into the center's state-of-the-art interpretive displays and theater, where you can discover the volcano in a whole new way. You will walk on the Eruption Trail and learn how the eruption shaped the surrounding landscape.

Spend a full day crawling, climbing, and hiking with your professional guide as you experience Oregon's natural surroundings up close. Travel north of Portland along the lower Columbia River, known for 18th-century Spanish, American, and British explorers, and the Chinookan people. Crawl through a lava tree mold during a 20-minute hike in a landscape reminiscent of a fairy-tale amusement park, before beginning your descent into Ape Cave, one of the longest continuous lava tubes in North America. Spend 1-2.5 hours exploring this cave, named for a purported Sasquatch attack. Weather permitting, you will spend an hour at the closest viewpoint into the crater of the volcano, where you will eat a picnic lunch, overlooking Spirit Lake. Here, if there are no clouds, walk up the 437-step staircase to get a photo of Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. Rainier, and of course, Mt. St. Helens. Before returning to Portland, you'll make additional 5-to-30-minute stops to enjoy vistas, hike through oldgrowth forest, and admire a waterfall. Throughout the day you'll learn about the geological history that shaped Mt. St. Helens and the Cascadia region.