Mount St. Helens

Hey NSMB

have any of you ridden up to the top of Mt. St. Helens? Anyone have any tips for what trail is best to the top and which direction? I have heard that the plains of Abraham trail is the one to take. Any info or experiences from anyone here? Which direction is best to take on the trail? I am planning on camping at the USDA Cougar camp site. Any other suggestions for camp sites? Will be visiting the Ape cave as well during the trip any suggestions for other hikes and fishing spots would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks all.

You can't ride to the "top" of Mt St Helens, that's hikers/mountaineers only. The ride from Ape Canyon through the plains of Abraham is a great ride with awesome scenery however.

Park at the Ape Canyon trailhead (just before Lava Canyon TH). Then take 234 and 216D. Some people do a loop on 225 Smith Creek but I think the out and back is better.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev3_007138.pdf

There actually is no bike trail to the "top" of the cone. Plains of Abraham actually runs about 1/3 of the way around the base of the cone. It is a pretty unique area, kind of like riding on the surface of the moon. You want to start at the Ape Canyon Trail head south-east of the cone. Ape Canyon takes you up through untouched forest into the blast zone and then Plains of Abraham takes you around to a view point that looks up into the crater in the north-west. You can either do it as an out-and-back (which is what I've done) or you can then go on to Smith Creek to do a loop instead. The navigation of AC/PoA is dead simple, but I've heard Smith creek is a little overgrown and trickier. Coming back down Ape Canyon is kind of a fun rip too.

I'm not sure what the legalities are, but there were a ton of people camping along the road leading to the Ape Canyon trail head in cleared but otherwise undeveloped camp spots.

Be sure to take lots of water because all of PoA is full-sun exposure and there's no water.

Awesome! Thank you for your input guys.

You can't ride to the "top" of Mt St Helens…

JINX! I think Guinness owes me a Coke!

Seriously, what are the odds we'd type nearly the same thing at the same time…

We were in cougar a couple of years back. Nice camping just outside the town. Super quiet during the week. At night, You can see the ligh glow of Vancouver from across the lake.

Ape Caves are about 20 min drive and it's a great way to spend a hot afternoon. Some sections look like a subway tunnel, and there's some scrambling up rocks where the ceiling has colapsed. Take your bike lights with a fresh battery, and be prepare to spend an hour or so underground.

Can't say much about the riding, but looks like great terrain. We saw a few riding parties on our way to Hood River.

Amazing place to ride.

Here are some of our trip reports
http://www.leelau.net/sharonandlee/tag/mt-st-helens/