Mt St Helens Visitor Center

We did not drive past this, and it was hard to make the time to stop. Laid out very nice. Was like getting into a good movie you just couldn't turn away.

There's a lot to like here. We started the visit with a brief but helpful movie and then studied creatively designed and interesting exhibits.

We spoke with two different rangers. Both were friendly and helpful with guidance for our drive to good viewpoints.

Awesome visitor center by the US Forest Services gives a good overview of and explains the significance of what you are about to see as you travel through the park.

Great gift shop - clean bathrooms, snacks, as well as maps and information.

5 explain to me like I'm 5 stars :)

They did a really nice job on the movie and exhibits. All staff were pleasant and helpful.

There is a small coffee bar in front of the visitor center.

One thing to note I've seen conflicting hours. They are open 9-4, NOT 9-5.

This is one of two visitor centers for Mt St Helens. This is the original one that was built shortly after the eruption. The second is up on Johnston Ridge which is about an hour up Spirt Lake Hwy and is closer to the base of the mountain.

Unfortunately, during our most recent visit, Johnston was closed because of a mud slide, so we opted to visit this location. Admission is $15 per person which includes a movie about the eruption and aftermath, and a number of exhibits, including before, during and after the eruption. There is also the usual gift shop.

The properly has a mile or so walk that you can do along Silver Lake which includes views of the mountain on a clear day.

Overall, it's worth a visit whether going to the top or not.

Nice enough STATE PARK visitor center. However, if you are wanting to go to see Mount St Helens itself, this is nowhere near the National Park. Mt St Helens is 46 miles and an hour drive away to the Johnston Ridge Observatory where the real US National Park observation area of the famous mountain is located. Don't make the mistake I did thinking a place named Mt St Helens Visitors Center would be the National one near the top and put this one into your GPS.
You can't even SEE the mountain from the area outside this Mt St Helens Visitors Center.
I felt like it was intentionally misleading name intending to bring tourists to this Oregon state park. It should have been called Silver Lake Visitors Center for the neighboring Lake or Seaside State Park visitor center for the Oregon State Park where it is located.

First, some background. I am quite used to looking up National Parks or National Monuments under www.nps.gov. I initially assumed that Mount St. Helens would be listed in a standard way. I was profoundly wrong. I do not know if it is due to MSH having not been a federal site prior to the eruption, or whether the status is the result of some inter-agency squabble. But in the end, info about the park is...dispersed. Leave yourself a few extra minutes to wade through multiple sites to determine who has the info you are looking for (the National Park Service, the U.S. Geologic Survey, the State of Washington, etc.).

There *is* a visitors center for MSH - and it is located about 50 miles west of the mountain. You will likely get here via I-5 (from Portland or Seattle). The center is around 3 miles off the highway. They have enormous parking lots to accommodate buses plus a lot of cars. It is located right on the main road out to the park.

The facility is run by the State of Washington. They appeared to give occasional ranger talks and inside there was a large display about the eruption. However, you had to pay $5 to access that area, which we skipped (you can see the large displayed photos from the other side of the room, before you pay to enter).

The staff was helpful and provided a map of the road into the park. They also answered other questions about the route. This place is definitely worth a stop en route to the mountain. The drive from here to the park facility closest to the mountain is a bit under an hour.

Seeing the mountain and the path of destruction following the eruption was one of the highlights of my trip!

Very cute place! At least from what we saw from the windows. It opens later in the morning. A cute must see place.
Great history. Restrooms. Chickens are friendly. Right off the road up to the mountains. Loved it. Nice rest stop.

Not the most impressive observatory but there are some stand out points. All my staff interactions have been more than helpful and they are all friendly and easy to approach. My family had a slight vehicle emergency and the staff had offered as much assistance as they could without hesitance. Off all the exhibits they offer, the most impressive the lava column. Most of the information comes in text form and there is a lot of reading involved. I can see how this would be challenging for kids to maintain a level of interest, but there's definitely a lot of information for an avid reader to sieve through.