The Cascades - Washington State - page 310

forest campground reservations, contact the National Recreation Reservation
Service ( & 877/444-6777 or 518/885-3639; www.reserveusa.com).
WHERE TO DINE
In the park there are dining rooms at Paradise Inn, open from mid-May to early
October, and the National Park Inn, open year-round. As the only formal din-
ing options within the park, these restaurants tend to stay busy. For quick meals,
there are snack bars at the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center, at Par-
adise Inn, and at Sunrise Lodge. In Ashford you'll find the Copper Creek
Restaurant, 35707 SR 706 E., Ashford ( & 360/569-2326 ), which does good
berry pies.
Alexander's AMERICAN Alexander's, which is also a popular B&B, is
the best place to dine outside the Nisqually entrance to the park. Fresh trout
from the inn's pond is the dinner of choice here, but you'll also find steaks, pork
chops, and pasta on the menu. Whatever you order, just be sure to save room
for the wild blackberry pie.
37515 SR 706 E., Ashford. & 800/654-7615 or 360/569-2300. www.alexanderscountryinn.com. Reserva-
tions recommended. Main courses $11-$25. MC, V. Mid-May to Oct daily 8am-9pm; Nov to mid-May Fri
3-8pm, Sat 8am-8pm, Sun 8am-7pm.
7 Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument £
Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center: 90 miles N of Portland, 168 miles S of Seattle
Named in 1792 by Capt. George Vancouver for his friend Baron St. Helens,
Mount St. Helens was once considered the most perfect of the Cascade peaks, a
snow-covered cone rising above lush forests. However, on May 18, 1980, all that
changed when Mount St. Helens erupted with a violent explosion previously
unknown in modern times.
The eruption blew out the side of the volcano and removed the top 1,300 feet
of the peak, causing the largest landslide in recorded history. This blast is esti-
mated to have traveled at up to 650 mph, with air temperatures of up to 800°F
(425°C). The eruption also sent more than 540 million tons of ash nearly 16
miles into the atmosphere. This massive volume of ash rained down on an area
of 22,000 square miles and could be measured as far away as Denver.
Today the volcano and 110,000 acres of both devastated and undisturbed
forests have been preserved as Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
Several visitor centers provide information on the eruption and the subsequent
changes that have taken place here.
ESSENTIALS
GETTING THERE Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is
accessed by three different routes. The one with all the major information cen-
ters is Wash. 504, the Spirit Lake Highway, which heads east from I-5 at Castle
Rock. The southern section of the monument is reached via Wash. 503 from
I-5 at Woodland. The east side of the monument is reached via U.S. 12 from
I-5 at exit 68.
VISITOR INFORMATION For more information on the national monument,
contact Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, 42218 NE Yale Bridge
Rd., Amboy, WA 98601 ( & 360/247-3900; www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/mshnvm).
ADMISSION Admission to one monument visitor center (or Ape Cave) is $3
($1 for children 5-15) and to two or more visitor centers (and Ape Cave) is $6
($2 for children 5-15). If you just want to park at one of the monument's trail