Mount St Helens / Castle Rock, Washington

Castle Rock

Serving as the Gateway to the breathtaking Mount St Helens, the historic city of Castle Rock, Washington connects two of the most incredible attraction, Spirit Lake Memorial Highway and  Mount St Helens National Monument.

Settled in 1852,  Castle Rock prospered as a Cowlitz River steamboat port and trading center for valley farms.

The Shintaffer Wharf, where boats coming upriver from Portland would tie up. Cargo would be offloaded onto smaller craft, which would convey it as far as Toledo, and from there it would be transported to the Puget Sound area by wagon.

Castle Rock is named for a volcanic rock outcropping over the Cowlitz River, "The Rock", rising 190 feet high on the south side of the city. The rock formation, resembling a castle, became a geographic landmark for Cowlitz Indians and Hudson's Bay Company traders as early as 1832. Today, it is the location of The Rock Community Park, with hiking trails, picnic tables, and a historical marker.

Castle Rock is at the heart of Washington timber country in the Pacific temperate rain forest. 

The local sawmill was the first to produce cedar shingles, using the Western red cedar, which grows in abundance in the region.

You don't have to tell me twice to stay out.  

Heavy machinery flings biosolids fertilizer onto a forest land application site. Yuck 😖

Sediment Retention Structure

The structure spans the Toutle River valley downstream from the volcano. Designed to trap sediment before it is transported into the Cowlitz and Columbia rivers.

Mount St Helens

We had good timing.  The sun came out and the clouds parted for a minute before starting to rain.

Coldwater Lake

The lake was created during the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, which blocked its natural outlet, Coldwater Creek, with volcanic debris.

Castle Lake

Weird, the trees seem 3D

Hoffstadt Creek Bridge

At 2,340 feet long and 370 feet high, the Hoffstadt Creek Bridge is the largest of the 14 bridges built for State Route 504.

Mount St Helens - Hope you had a blast - 😂