The Mt St Helens Adventure Tour from Portland

Overview

Travel to Mount Saint Helens and environs, from Portland, on this ALL-INCLUSIVE tour with a guide who will discuss the geology, ecology, climate, history, and legends of the area, as well as the history of US public lands. Your guide will lead you on hikes near waterfalls, through lava tubes, and within oldgrowth forests.

You will see some of the most unique geological features in North America, including North America's longest continuous lava tube and a lava tree mold forest. Weather permitting, you will be driven to the closest viewpoint into the crater of the volcano, where you will be provided a picnic lunch, overlooking Spirit Lake. No matter how hot the weather, you'll enjoy natural air conditioning as you hike by dramatic waterfalls and through primeval forest. You'll have the option of a dinner/beer stop (own expense) on the way back to Portland. *THIS IS A 12-HOUR TOUR*

City: Portland

Sat 31 May

Other dates

You can choose the date already on the booking website

Starting at $319.00

Make a reservation

Sat 31 May

Starting at $319.00

Make a reservation

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What's Included

If weather does not allow mountain visibility, a modified itinerary will take you to bonus stops.

Bottled water

Snacks

Lunch

Hotel pickup/drop-off in Portland area

Air-conditioned vehicle

Headlamps

Additional Info

Not recommended for travelers with spinal injuries
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Not recommended for travelers with poor cardiovascular health
Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
This tour operates in all weather conditions, and the cave is 42F (5.5C). Please dress in layers.
We recommend shoes that are suitable for minor rock climbing (i.e. scrambling/bouldering).
Wear long pants, as there will be opportunities for crawling.

What To Expect

Mount St. Helens

Travel to Mt. St. Helens and environs with a naturalist guide who will discuss the geology, ecology, climate, history, and legends of the area, as well as the history of US public lands. Your guide will lead you on hikes near waterfalls, through lava tubes, and within oldgrowth forests. Stops both inside and outside of Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.

Ape Cave Lava Tubes

Traverse North America's longest continuous lava tube! No matter how hot it is outside, the temperature in the cave is a constant 42F (5.5C), so bring layers. Also, be sure to bring shoes that are suitable for scrambling, and wipe those shoes before entering the bats' home so that they don't get white-nose syndrome!

Trail of Two Forests Trail

A lava mold forest. Walk through a wonderland of wells and tunnels, that's hard to pull kids away from.

WIndy Ridge Viewpoint

Weather permitting, we'll take you to the closest viewpoint with a view into the crater that is accessible by vehicle. There you'll have a picnic lunch, and have the opportunity to burn off your lunch by ascending the 357 stairs to a 365-degree view overlooking Spirit Lake, with the mountain looming. If conditions are clear enough, you'll see four stratovolcanoes: St. Helens, Rainier, Adams, and Hood.

Johnston Ridge Observatory

The place where Dave Johnston got on the radio and yelled "Vancouver! Vancouver! This is it!", the fateful morning of May 18, 1980.

Mount St. Helens Visitor Center

The visitor center with the most detailed history and geology of Mt. St. Helens.

Lava Canyon

A fairytale landscape of sapphire waterfalls and blue-grey andesite that were scoured and smoothed by the 1980 lahar resulting from the rapid melting of the Shoestring Glacier by pyroclastic flows.

Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center

The visitor center that provides a special retro experience, with a movie about Mt. St. Helens circa 1985, and a 1990s-era Disneyland Haunted Mansion-style park ranger statue, who will give you a lecture.

Show 5 more stops

Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Traveler Photos

Reviews (37)

John_L

Oct 2024

The trip was great as a whole and Marcus was very knowledgeable about the natural history of what we saw. My favorite stops on the tour were Ape Cave and The Trail of Two Forests. The view of the mountain was also really great to see.

Response from Host

Dec 2024

Thanks for the great review, John!

tjhazard

Oct 2024

Our guide, Marcus, was super knowledgeable not only about the volcano but the local ecology and history as well. The tour featured a few hours of driving between points of interest around the mountain but Marcus made the drives between them almost as interesting as the sites themselves. The hikes at each of the stops were short (<1 hr) and easily traversed (board walks, stairs, handrails). We visited the Cold Water Interpretive Center, Ape Cave, Ape Canyon, and Twin Forests.

Response from Host

Dec 2024

Thanks for the great review, TJ! We had a great group that day!

C4807FTchrisg

Sep 2024

The views of Mount Saint Helens were good and the weather was perfect. The viewpoints that are closest to the crater were taken out by a landslide, which did limit the experience, but Marcus was a great host, gracious, knowledgeable, and friendly. Overall it was an outstanding experience.

Response from Host

Dec 2024

Thanks for the great review!