Mount St. Helens and Lupine Fields

Mount St. Helens above lupine meadows.

 Mount St. Helens is a great destination for flowers in season.  In fact, its season runs much earlier than, say, Mount Rainier. If this is what you are looking for, early to mid-July is the time to visit.  Basically, you have three choices:

• The south side up FS 81 out of Cougar, WA.
• Johnston Ridge at the end of SR 504 (from I-5).
• Windy Ridge from FS25 & 99 out of Randle.

The south side of the mountain is the "non-eruption" view.  For most, it's the climbing side to the summit.  The views are of the "flat" summit (no crater).

Johnston Ridge is the most popular as it is a paved highway all the way to road's end at the Johnston Ridge Observatory.  It includes paved walkways and an amphitheater for easy viewing of the destruction side of the mountain, with flower meadows at your feet in season.  It, of course, also has the visitor center (with another one along the way at Coldwater). (Note as of this writing, 504 is closed just beyond the Coldwater Visitor Center due to road washout.)

Windy Ridge, while still fairly popular, involves a little more travel.  It's approached by heading south from Randle, WA. and following the signs for Windy Ridge.  The Windy Ridge area, while still accommodating for the casual visitor, is more of a hiking destination.  There is no visitor center, and the best floral views involve exploring the trails in the area.  Norway Pass and Independence Ridge are popular trails offering flower meadows and can be made into a loop trip with a second vehicle.  Of course, Norway Pass offers the spectacular view of the mountain over Spirit Lake!

The image above was taken along the Loowit Trail, approached via the Truman Trail from the Windy Ridge Viewpoint.  The fields of lupine were magnificent during this visit, and their perfume the strongest I have ever witnessed.  I made a loop trip for this visit, first visiting the Plains of Abraham, then descending the Windy Trail down into the meadows along the Loowit Trail before climbing the Windy Trail back up to the Truman Trail and returning to Windy Ridge.

This image was recently licensed for worldwide web usage by a prominent marketing company.  You can see many more images like this in my Mount St. Helens Gallery if you wish.

As always, thanks for looking!  Hope to see you on the trail!