Mount St. Helens get in · How to get in Mount St. Helens
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How to get in Mount St. Helens
How to get in Mount St. Helens
Warning: There are no gas/petrol stations past the 18 mile point (from I-5) on Hwy 504. The Shell station in the Kid Valley (8 mi. east of Toutle) is the last chance to buy fuel (incl. diesel). The round trip distance to the end of the highway (Johnston Ridge) from this point is 66.5 mi (107.5 km). Cheaper gas is available at Castle Rock as you exit the I-5 freeway.
The most popular tourist route into the Mount St. Helens area is via Washington state route 504. It can be reached at Castle Rock (exit #49) off Interstate 5 in Washington, about one hour and 15 minutes north of Portland and two hours south of Seattle. If going north on the return route (Seattle/Tacoma), State Route 505 can be used as a short cut back to I-5 (turn right a few miles east of Toutle). This is not recommended for the initial trip up the mountain, as it bypasses the main visitor center near Castle Rock.
From the east, there are three main routes. If using GPS or computer routing, be sure it doesn't send you on unpaved, one-lane forest service roads unless that's what you want. From Spokane, all three take roughly the same amount of time.
US Hwy 12 West from Yakima to I-5 South for 19 miles (be sure White Pass on US-12 is open)
I-90 West (Seattle) to WA Hwy 18 (exit #25) via Maple Valley and Auburn, then I-5 South for 93 miles (Drive with caution on the older sections of WA Hwy 18, and watch for large trucks.) Though further, I-405 South (exit #10) from Bellevue is also an option.
I-84 West to Portland, along the Columbia River, then I-205 North (exit #9) to I-5 North for 42 miles
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Mount St. Helens
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Mount St. Helens - updated May 2024
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Mount St. Helens Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.