The hike to the Loowit Trail from the Redrock Pass trailhead starts at a lava field with dramatic views of Mt. St. Helens, skirts Butte Camp, and ends above the timberline with even more dramatic views of Mt. St. Helens. The lava field at the beginning and the landscape above the timberline make this one of my favorite Mt. St. Helens hikes. The trail begins with a “Craters of the Moon” walk through a lava field with striking views of Mt. St. Helens. Unlike other lava fields I’ve crossed on the mountain, the trail is well-maintained and easy to negotiate. The first portion of the trail alone makes the hike worthwhile. After the lava field, the trail enters a wooded area. The huckleberry bushes are turning red, offering a nice contrast to the green foliage. The trail soon enters the forest and then climbs gently up to Butte Dome Camp. There was water on the trail near Butte Camp, and it has been marshy every time I’ve been there. I suspect the mosquitos can be quite annoying, making it not a very pleasant place to pitch a tent. After Butte Camp, the climb gets more serious as the trail continues up to the timberline. There are some rewarding views along the way, however, breaking up the heart-thumping uphill trek. The trail eventually breaks out above the timberline, where the views of the mountain are incredible. Some people stop at the timberline, but it is worthwhile to extend your hike up to the Loowit Trail. The views from here are excellent, and you can experience the volcanic landscape firsthand. Earlier in the year, the wildflowers are surprising plentiful. This makes an excellent picnic place to stop and commune with nature. If you’d like to extend your hike, go east on the Loowit Trail as it traverses the eerie terrain and then flirts with the timberline as it dips into a wooded area. Turn around if you get to the bolder field, as it can be treacherous. Up to this point, the trail is quite enjoyable. This is a unique hike and not as crowded as some of the other hikes on the south side of the mountain. I highly recommend it as a break from the ordinary.

Hiked the Butte Camp trail from the Red Rock Trailhead to Butte Camp on July 20, 2013. Side trip up the hill and north to the Loowit Trail later in the day. A highlight of this hike is actually the first 2 minutes. As you hike up a short switchback from the trailhead parking lot, on a clear day you have a decent panoramic view of Mt. St. Helens. The first section of the hike is on a rock field, but this only lasts for a few hundred yards. Just past the initial section, there is a section of bear grass that is very buggy. In hot weather, put on the bug spray before starting out! Bugs tapered off a bit when we got under forest canopy in about a quarter mile. Nice, level hike until Butte Camp. You are at the camp when you see water crossing over and along the trail. A great stream flows by the trail at camp. There is also a wooden pole marking the entrance to the camp site on your left. Lupines were in bloom in this area. Just pass Butte Camp, some switchbacks start out, taking you up the butte where the trail continues up and around. At the top, there is a great view of Mount Adams to the south. Continuing left after the Mount Adams viewpoint, another great view of Mt. St. Helen's south flank. Dry, hot conditions at the top and no water sources - fill up your bottle at Butte Camp. Nice alpine wildflower show at the Loowit trail. This trail is very exposed and above treeline. Good views of Mount Adams continue.

Butte Camp Trail (accessed via the Toutle Trail from Red Rock Pass on FR 81), is a favorite that I hike nearly every year. I like the diversity of landscapes along this hike, from lava bed to recovering clearcuts, from oldgrowth Douglas-fir and noble fir forest to lodgepole pine and silver fir, from the wet meadow of Butte Camp to the desert landscape of timberline. The hike starts with a walk across a 1,900-year-old lava bed. From the open lava bed, you can see the entire south face of Mount St. Helens. You will be at timberline up there at your turnaround point. From Red Rock Pass, the route goes 1.5 miles on Toutle Trail #238 to the junction with Butte Camp Trail #238A. (You will pass two trails going off to the left enroute: the first one is an equestrian trail and the second one is a winter ski trail.) At the junction, go straight ahead on the Butte Camp Trail, climbing steadily for about 1.25 miles to a flat area where Butte Camp sits to the left of the trail. Butte Camp was the former "climbers bivouac" for the south climb route prior to the 1980 eruption. It has a reliable water supply through most of the year from a small stream that flows off of Butte Camp Dome and through the meadow. Today, we encountered large snow drifts on the trail, in Butte Camp and the surrounding forest. In July, mosquitoes usually are a problem at Butte Camp, but not today. Beyond Butte Camp, the trail climbs in earnest, switchbacking up through an old growth noble fir forest that feels refreshingly cool on a warm summer day. The trail on this ridge face was snow free. The trail emerges onto an open slope to a viewpoint where you can look back to the Red Rock Pass lava bed and see where you started the hike. The trail then turns northward towards the mountain. We encountered snow in earnest here, with tree wells indicating depths of four to five feet. I used my GPS to navigate across the snow until we reached the final ridge leading up to the junction with the Loowit Trail. This ridge always melts out early and already had flowers like Pink Mountain-heather blooming. Our turn around point is the junction with the Loowit Trail at 4,750 feet. (It is illegal to go higher than 4,800 feet without a climbing permit.) The Loowit Trail junction got us to timberline and big views, light breezes and the place to ourselves. During lunch, we listened for marmots but only heard varied thrushes calling from the forest below. The Loowit Trail is mostly snow free along this open, south-facing slope. This hike is about 7.8 miles round trip with about 1,600 feet elevation gain.

This was a great trail, but if you're hiking in the summer bring bug spray! At the beginning of the trail there are beautiful views of the mountain as you hike through the bolder field. We passed through several fields where there were a few wildflowers. We had hoped for more, but I guess there weren't that many in bloom this year. We then entered the forest and began a steady descent up for the next 2 miles or so. Though beautiful, we had unfortunately not prepared for the mosquitos. We found that we had to keep a pretty brisk pace in order to keep from being eaten. Still, it was beautiful and there were patches where views of the mountain would break through the trees. The smells were wonderful. At about the 2.5 mile mark we reached the Butte. This provided an excellent spot for resting a bit, and the mosquitoes thinned out significantly. Take care climbing up with kids as the ashy ground can be slippery. We had not planned to continue up the trail to tree line, but we wouldn't have been able to if we had wanted. The trail was pretty heavily snowed over from the Butte onward. We were carrying two young children in Kelty backpacks for the trip and found the trail very accommodating. It is well marked and in good condition. Besides climbing the Butte I don't recall any spots where I had unsteady footing. Take plenty of water in warm weather. There is a stream about 1/3 mile before the Butte if you plan to hike longer and have some kind of water purification system.

We tried to reach the Butte Camp trailhead via the route described in the guide (FR 90, FR 83, FR 81), but snow on Forest Road 83 became too thick for driving in the sedan by the time we reached the intersection between FR 83 and FR 81. We turned back, but we were treated to a few amazing views of Mount St. Helens. We also witnessed the construction of a snowman next to the entrance sign for the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. There was a helpful map, however, which suggested an alternate route for reaching the Kalama Horse Camp (FR 90 to FR 81), which was our other objective...