By Tim Clinton
Point blank.
Up close and personal.
Unobstructed.
Those are the words and phrases that come to mind when it comes to the view of Mount St. Helens from Johnston Ridge.
There is nothing between you and the crater and lava dome on the exploded north side of the Washington volcano as you look across from next to the Johnston Ridge Observatory.
All that is below is the landslide zone from what set off the infamous May 18, 1980 blast, including a deep canyon carved out in only the years since that would look to be much older.
You can pay to go inside the observatory and take a look at the mountain through the window and at presentations and films about its eruptions, or walk along the outside and take in the view and snap pictures.
Also impressive on Johnston Ridge besides the view of the volcano is the mixture of barrenness and dead fallen trees and tree stumps along with new life.
Grass, bushes and small trees have poked their way into the scene along with flowering vegetation such as flaming red Indian Paintbrush and white Everlasting Flowers. Even an occasional chipmunk makes an appearance.
Highway 504 to Johnston Ridge is well paved the whole way, and you can look down on the Toutle River and the mud flow that came crashing down the valley after the 1980 landslide and blast.
You can also look up and see the west side of the mountain and part of the crater to the left.
From there the road winds down to the shores of Coldwater Lake, which was also created in 1980, then back up again as you get closer and closer to Johnston Ridge and at the mountain itself.
The road ends in a wide parking lot and there is a trail that takes you uphill to the observatory and viewpoint.
Johnston Ridge is named after David A. Johnston, the volcanologist stationed on the ridge who announced to his Vancouver headquarters and the world that “This is it” about the May 18 eruption right before his death in the blast.
How to get there:
To get to Johnston Ridge, take the Interstate 5 exit onto Highway 504 at Castle Rock and stay on it to its end 52 miles to the east. You can also take the Highway 505 exit until it goes through Toledo and joins 504, where you take a left.
The Johnston Ridge Observatory address is 24000 Spirit Lake Highway, Toutle, WA 98649.
For more information, call (360) 274-2140.
You get an unobstructed view of Mount St. Helens from Johnston Ridge.
Northwest Vistas 