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Yet another significant landslide will make Mount St. Helens more difficult to reach this year, but not impossible.
From Randle, state Route 131 becomes Forest Service Road 25 at the boundary of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The road reaches many popular destinations and campgrounds in the forest, but is closed each winter for through travel from the north due to snow.
This year, the closure isn’t likely to end when the snow melts. A “significant” landslide from the first week of June took place at Milepost 26 of Forest Road 25, according to a news release from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.
“We don't have any current updates on the slide along Forest Road 25. Please be aware that there are also currently repairs underway on Forest Road 25 between mileposts 14 - 16. Expect delays in this area. Thank you for your patience,” the release stated, later adding, “Forest engineers are working to put together an emergency response.”
Once the snow melts, typically around July, Forest Service Road 99 will still be accessible from the north for visitors to Windy Ridge at Mount St. Helens. Windy Ridge is a viable alternative for viewing the Northern side of the mountain after a much larger debris slide in May took out Spirit Lake Memorial Highway and drivers’ access to Johnston Ridge Observatory, the closest, easily accessible look at the crater caused by the 1980 eruption.
From the south, however, travelers who would have used Forest Road 25 to access Forest Road 99 will have to go the long way around to reach Windy Ridge due to the most recent slide.
“The damaged section of road will most likely be inaccessible throughout the summer,” the release stated. “More information will be shared when it becomes available.”
The state Department of Transportation announced this week that no public access is expected to Johnston Ridge this summer. Over the weekend, however, other recreation opportunities near the slide were reopened. Hikers and day-trippers can visit Coldwater Lake or the Hummocks Trail.
Visitors should call ahead and check current conditions to find out if the route that they are planning to take is affected by one of several road repair projects in the forest this season.
For conditions reports, visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/giffordpinchot/recreation#conditions. For alerts from the Gifford Pinchot, head to https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/giffordpinchot/alerts-notices.
