Mount Saint Helens
Visitor Services

There are food and gift services at the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center and the Cascade Peaks Visitor Center.  Click on the links below for additional information from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest featuring other Mount St Helens visitor services and facilities.  

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Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center
Food and Gift Services Available

Open Daily as of May 1st, 2002.  10 am to 6 pm
(Open Thursday through Monday, 9:30 am to 4:30 pm through April 30th)


Situated within the National Volcanic Monument and 43 miles east of Castle Rock, the center paints an amazing picture of how plants and animals survived the blast and the magic of their recovery throughout the blast zone.

Enjoy the accessible .25 mile Winds of Change Interpretive Trail and marvel at how a stone-filled wind slammed into Coldwater Ridge during the May 18, 1980 eruption transforming the forests into what appeared to be a waste land. Then learn how the gentle winds of time, helped plants and animals return. Visitors can enjoy panoramic views of Mount St. Helens, newly formed lakes, blown down trees, and the debris-filled Toutle River Valley.

Services include a video-wall theater program, interpretive exhibits, a staffed information desk, a gift shop, a Northwest Interpretive Association book sales area, and a restaurant with a selection of sandwiches, soups, salads, and drinks.

 Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center

Interpretive Talks
Discover some of the magic and secrets of Mount St. Helens as a Forest Interpreter brings to life the incredible changes this landscape has endured. Talks are held inside the Center's pavilion or on the deck located at the rear of the Visitor Center. Allow 30 minutes.

Cascade Peaks

Food and gift shop services are provided at this site from approximately early June through September.