Backcountry Trips, New Exhibit at Mount St. Helens

Mount St Helens and Spirit Lake as seen near Coldwater Peak. Photo by Ingrid Freaney

May 18 marks the 36th anniversary of the eruption of Mount St. Helens. Want to see and learn about some of the changes to the landscape over the last few decades? Explore the region with a backcountry volunteer trip or a visit to a new State Parks exhibit opening this weekend.

Backpack and give back three nights around Mount St. Helens

Thanks to a new partnership between Washington Trails Association, Mount St. Helens Institute and the Forest Service this year, WTA is supporting more backcountry work than ever before in the Southwest region of the state. In addition to helping us hire seasonal crew leader Layla Farahbakhsh, the partnership also made an additional three Backcountry Response Team trips on the Monument possible.

Take a three day weekend to camp under the stars in one of the most unique landscapes in the world. From a backcountry basecamp, you'll work at improving trails at the foot of Mount St. Helens.

Sign up for a spot on one of the following trips:

• Boundary Trail, July 8-10

• Lakes Trail, July 15-18

• Loowit Trail, July 29-31
• Coldwater Trail, Sept. 9-11

Volunteer for a BCRT and wake up to dawn views of Mount St. Helens before helping fix trails.

New exhibit opens, features rare 1930's Asahel Curtis images

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has also opened a new exhibit at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center featuring rare 1930s-era Asahel Curtis images.

The exhibit, titled “Washington State Parks Through the Lens of Asahel Curtis,” will be on display from May 20 to Sept.15 at the Mount St. Helens Visitor Center, 3029 Spirit Lake Hwy, Castle Rock, just across the highway from Seaquest State Park. 

An evening exhibit unveiling is scheduled for Friday, May 20, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. with free admission. The Visitor Center’s doors will close at 5:15 p.m. A brief program introducing the exhibit will start promptly after.

The photographs, taken during the Great Depression, capture the early recreational use and development of Washington’s state park system. Many photographs show state parks under construction by crews from federal work relief programs such as the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The exhibit features some of Washington’s most cherished state parks, in addition to local state parks in the upper Cowlitz area, including Lewis and Clark, Millersylvania and the Jackson House Heritage Site.

Asahel Curtis (1874-1941) was among the most prominent photographers of the Pacific Northwest. He spent more than 40 years documenting the rapid transformation of Washington State that occurred during his lifetime. His photographs provide one of the most complete historic records of this period.

The Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $2.50 for ages 7 to 17; $5 for ages 18 and older; $15 for families (two adults plus accompanying children) and free for children age 6 or younger.