The Great American Road Trip ChallengeOne trip, ~2.5 years, 48 states
← The Pacific NorthwestMount St. Helens
Day598

Day 598 — The Blast Zone — Mount St. Helens

Full day5h planned
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572Shakespeare & Lithia Park573Free Day574Up to Crater Lake575The Caldera576North to Bend577Beer, River & Rock578Free Day579North to Mount Hood580Waterfalls & the Mountain581Free Day582West to Portland583Books, Carts & Doughnuts584Gardens & Views585Neighborhoods & Beer586Free Day587South to Salem588Capital & Waterfalls589Free Day590West to the coast591The Central Coast592Cannon Beach593Free Day594North to Astoria595Column, Maritime & the Goonies596Free Day597Across to Washington598The Blast Zone599Northeast to Rainier600Paradise601Sunrise & Old Growth602Northwest to the capital603The Statehouse604Free Day605Out to the peninsula606Hurricane Ridge607The Rainforest608The Wild Coast609Free Day610East to Seattle611Pike Place & the Waterfront612Seattle Center613Pioneer Square & Ballard614Flight & Views615Free Day616North to the islands617San Juan Island618Orcas Island619Free Day620North to Canada & the Cascades621Vancouver, BC622Bridges, Peaks & the Border623Free Day624North Cascades625Southeast to Leavenworth626Alpine Village627Free Day628Southeast to wine country629Wine & Main Street630Free Day631Into the Rockies

Into the crater's shadow.

  1. 9:30 AM – 2:30 PM· 5h

    Johnston Ridge & the craterNational Parks & ForestsAnchor

    Drive the Spirit Lake Highway into the 1980 eruption's blast zone for a face-on view of the crater and the slowly recovering landscape.

    Bring: layers

    24000 Spirit Lake Hwy, Toutle, WA

What the colours mean

On this day

  • National Parks & Forests1

And how much each one matters

  • AnchorAlways do — the reason this stop is on the map
  • Worth itDo most of these
  • BonusQuirky bonus, if it's happening while you're here