It will be years before people will be able to reach the views, trails and a visitor center at Mount St. Helens.
Johnston Ridge, the site of a seasonal observatory and museum, as well as a trailhead that leads above and down into the pumice plains of the volcano’s 1980 blast zone, will remain inaccessible until 2027, as crews work to repair landslide damage on the Spirit Lake Highway that leads up the mountain.
The Washington State Department of Transportation announced the timeline, which it previously released, as a “refresher” to the public, The Columbian first reported on Wednesday. Construction of a bridge replacement is expected to begin in April 2026, with the highway set to reopen in April 2027, according to the department’s timeline.
The plan was originally released in February, nine months after a large landslide blocked the road and damaged the Spirit Lake Outlet Bridge. The mudslide stranded 12 people and a dog, who needed to be rescued by helicopter.
More than 300,000 cubic yards of debris from an adjacent hillside fell across the highway on May 14, 2023, officials said, covering the road with mud, rock, ice and water, and causing “catastrophic damage” to the 85-foot bridge. Crews installed a temporary bypass that summer, but it failed after only four months, leaving WSDOT and the U.S. Forest Service to refocus on replacing the bridge.
WSDOT is currently working on designing the new bridge, according to the timeline, which it expects to wrap up by June 2025.
While Johnston Ridge remains closed, several Mount St. Helens attractions will be open, including the climber’s route on the south side of the mountain, visitor centers at Silver Lake and Coldwater Lake, and the Hummocks Trail, which leads to the famed pumice plains via a longer route.
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