Miles: 2.5 miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest: 175ft/3133ft
Map: Green Trails Mt. St. Helens 332s and Mount St. Helens 364, NatGeo Mt. St. Helens/Mount Adams (sometimes shown as Jackpine Shelter)
Favorite Eats After Hike: Fargher Lakehouse, PNW Pizza Co, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty please.
Hike details:
The Pine Creek Trail is a short, easy graded path into the forest at the base of Mount St. Helens, past a shelter built in 1920s, to a viewpoint along the Muddy River Lahar. Pine Creek rests to the left in a dry ravine and strawberry mingles with pale green moss along the path as you walk between the pines. Look for David’s pestaman and coral hued Indian paintbrush as you wander deeper into the forest.
There are a few spots where debris fields have washed over the trail creating ruts to navigate and the trail becomes muted the closer you get to the lahar field.
My trip report:
6/29/2020
This was one of three hikes today as we looked for less popular trails around Mount St Helens to explore. We passed the trailhead the first time but tracking with GPS, turned around and it was more visible. The road opposite it does not have large pullouts but we were able to park far enough over that we weren’t blocking the road. I can see if the trail became more popular, this could be an issue.
I knew it was a great trail right away as the first flower to great us was a bright coral Indian paintbrush, one of my favorites! There were quite a few trees down in the half mile before the cabin but nothing major and we were able to stay on the trail. Pine Creek was dry and looked like it usually is.
The cabin was in great shape with bunks and seats around the campfire. The area around it is large and flat, plenty of room in case the shelter is occupied. We continued on the trail past, up and down over spots where debris has flown down from the left to rut out the path.
At about mile in, the trail leaves the older forest and opens up among a much younger grove of trees and moss was fighting hard to obscure the path as it wove between volcanic rock and silt. There was some flagging but it was not hard to see where to go.
In less than a quarter mile, the trail opened up at the lahar cloaked in the low clouds. It was obvious that the southeast flank of Mount St Helens and East Dome should be visible to our left but it was no-go today. We were not that disappointed because we had the whole place to ourselves and it was a beautiful sight nonetheless observing the flora sprouting up from the moonscape of the lahar.
Directions: Take exit 21 at Woodland off I-5 and turn east on SR 503 towards Cougar. Continue through as the road becomes FR 90, past the Swift Reservoir, turning left on FR 83 signed for Ape Canyon. Follow this road 10.3 miles to the trailhead on the left which is easy to miss as it takes off into the forest at an angle right from the road. You will see a gravel road on the right (FR8320) where you can park, there is room for a few cars. No parking pass needed. If you get to Lahar Viewpoint, you went too far.
Click here for the other hikes we did and more in the area.
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