Day Trips From Portland: Getaway Ideas for the Local Traveler

Living Volcanoes: Silver Lake and Toutle, Washington Once upon a time Mt. St. Helens was known for its perfect shape. Now it’s known for its massive crater. On May 18, 1980, the beautiful mountain in the North Cascade Range blew its top. Everyone who was living in the Pacific Northwest remembers that event—ash fell in a radius of hundreds of miles. The eruption caused the largest landslide in recorded history. Winds reached over 300 miles per hour, and the valley below the mountain was instantly scoured by heat, wind, ash and rock. Many folks lost their lives, as did countless wild animals. Today, Mt. St. Helens is still treated with the reverence and awe that it earned that cataclysmic day. But in the thirty-plus years that have passed, the area has also become a testament to the power and beauty of nature and the ability of the land to make a rapid recovery. Earth that was once practically annihilated has transformed into a green landscape once more, and bright flowers and green seedlings have taken their place where once there was only ash and mud. Silver Lake is the first town off of I-5 en route to Mt. St. Helens. Though it’s just a few miles off of the very busy north-south interstate between Portland and Seattle, this small town feels alpine and rustic. You can feel the weight of the vast wilderness ahead, pulling you out of the city and into a terrain that is both lush and austere. Though in a different way than years ago, Silver Lake remains a recreational playground. Visitors come here every year for skiing, spelunking, hiking, camping, horseback riding and more. Fishing is very popular—Silver Lake is one of the best largemouth bass lakes in Western Washington, and also boasts crappie, bluegill, trout, catfish and edible carp. Tourism thrives here—thousands of people a year find that they just have to get a glimpse of that amazing Mt. St. Helens.