Hummocks Trail, Birth of a Lake Interpretive Trail & Eruption Trail — Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2011

South Cascades > Mount St. Helens

Went for a day with 3 preschool to teenage children and had a great time! The whole family were able to do very easily the The Birth of a Lake which was a great mostly flat trail along boardwalks and very beautiful lakeside and hillside photo ops of the "new" lakes that have formed since the eruption in '80. Very easy and paved trail with some beautiful purple bell flowers in bloom along the trails :) We also really loved Eruption Trail! Great views of Mt. St. Helens and if the clouds are gone a totally unobstructed view as well! Great spots along the way to get "the perfect shot" and is well traveled but still very easy to follow and even hubby who isn't at all in shape can make the relativly steep grade to the top. Well worth the trip! At this moment though, be mindful of "potholes" that have been cut out of the pavement in several places...Other then this, no problems being wheelchair assesable! Mostly you can dodge around but a few toward the top are from one side to the other. My oldest and myself took the Hummack trail! It was a great "first" REAL hike that is about 2 1/2 miles of a loop of trails meandering over and around various hummacks, along streams, ponds and wet land that are the result of the landslides that happened during the eruption. Lots of ups and downs and some areas of flat walking makes for a nice change so as not always up or always going down...Very beautiful views of the nature up close and personal. Great for those wanting to get their feet wet in a long but not too long of a day hike!