Mount Saint Helens Hike Guide
Mount Saint Helens is an extremely popular volcano located in Southern Washington. At 8,300ft in elevation, this active volcano is a great spot to practice some mountaineering skills in a relatively low risk environment. In order to hike Mount Saint Helens, a permit/reservation is required. During Winter, Spring and early Summer months, most hikers will want some sort of traction (microspikes/crampons) and a mountain axe in order to safely reach the summit. When snow levels are high, the summit block can be very dangerous due to massive cornices that tend to form.
Mount Saint Helens Quick Facts
Virtual Trail Guide: Mount Saint Helens
Mount Saint Helens Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5 Stars)
Distance: 10 Miles RT
Elevation Start: 2,640ft
Summit: 8,363ft
Total Elevation Gain: 5,500ft
Estimated Time to Complete: 7-12+ Hours (Depending on descent method)
Difficulty: Difficult (depending on snow levels) What does this mean?
Class: Class 2 – What does this mean?
Season: Year round (This route generally melts out sometime in July)
Avalanche Risk: Although Mount Saint Helens does contain some avalanche risk, generally speaking, this mountain is fairly safe especially if you are taking the climbers route up and down. However, if you plan on skiing or boarding down, there are so many variations to take and slides can become a concern. Due to the complicated nature of the terrain, please understand the conditions and risks before heading out.
Snow Climb Grade: 30-35 degrees on average
Directions to Mount Saint Helens
Trailhead: Marble Mountain Sno-Park
Getting Here: The Sno-Park trailhead is located about an hour and a half North from Portland. All of the roads to the parking lot are paved so you should have no issues with clearance and any vehicle can get to the lot.
Parking: The Sno-Park lot is massive and since reservations are required in order to summit Mount Saint Helens, parking should never be an issue. There are restrooms at the trailhead as well.
Fees: In addition to the $20 fee, a $6 reservation is also required in order to go above 4,800ft on Mount Saint Helens. Permits can be tough to come by, so check daily if you have a certain day in mind. Purchase permits here.
Summary
Camping: Most people knock out Mount Saint Helens in a single day push so camping along the trail is not super relevant. However, if you did decide to camp, there are a handful of spots to do this before reaching Chocolate Falls. You could find a spot to camp in the parking area but if you were to car camp, I would 12/10 recommend one of the dispersed spots on the road leading to the trailhead.
Dogs: During months where snow covers the mountain, I would not recommend bringing a dog up Mount Saint Helens. However, during the drier months, I don’t see why a dog with mountain experience would have any issues reaching the summit.
Make it a Loop: Mount Saint Helens is an out and back hike but if you have any recommendations for other hikes in the area I should check out, I am all ears so leave those in the comments!
Hike X Factor: Cornices
The massive cornices that can form near the summit of Mount Saint Helens are no joke. Unfortunately, they have even claimed lives in the past when hikers have gotten too close and they have collapsed. Once you reach the ridge and on the summit itself, be extremely careful and do not get too close to the edge.
Hike Tip(s): Tagging the True Summit & Skiing/Riding Down
Maybe this was an isolated incident for me (I doubt it) but during my time on Mount Saint Helens 95% of the people on the mountain did not tag the true summit. If you don’t care about doing so, cool, that is your journey. However, if you do, once you reach the top of the climb, head left (descending a bit) until you can see the obvious true summit of the volcano. The views here are significantly better (at least during the Winter and Spring months) than the spot where most people seem to stop. Be very careful near this ridge, especially when the cornices are still up. This part of the mountain has claimed lives before.
If you are skiing or riding down, I would 100% follow my .gpx track down. A bit of luck paired with good planning let me ride down almost 3 miles from the false summit to the lava flow that ended right at Chocolate Falls. I had to boot maybe 20-25 ft, including a small downclimb but it was so much better than I expected when looking at the snow on the way up.
Best Views: Honestly, I really loved the views on Mount Saint Helens. Looking back to Mt Hood, over to Mt Adams and the summit views were absolutely spectacular. Sure, looking at the same climb for hours can get boring but on a clear day, the views up there were spectacular.
Gear Needed
- 14er Day Hike Packing List
- Winter Backpack
- Hiking/SkiPoles
- Headlamp
- Climbing Helmet
- Mountain Axe – Petzl EVO
- Mountain Axe – Black Diamond Raven – Great for Beginners
- Crampons
- Crampon Bag
- Snowboard Boots: Deeluxe Spark – No link, can be hard to find.
- Snowboard Boot Crampons
- La Sportiva Mountaineering Boots
- Snowpants
- Gloves
- Microspikes
- Gaiters
- Optional: Avalanche Gear: Beacon, Probe, Shovel
- Optional: Snowshoes
- Optional: Skis or Splitboard
- Optional: Goggles
- Optional: Garmin inReach
- Optional: Garmin Fenix Watch
- Optional: GoPro, Joby Tripod, Selfie Stick, GoPro 360, Drone, Insta360
- *Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you.
