PORTLAND – It will be years before people can access the overlooks, hiking trails and a visitor center at Mount St. Helens.
Johnston Ridge, the site of a seasonal observatory and museum as well as a hiking trail that leads over 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 leading up the mountain.
The Washington State Department of Transportation announced the timeline, which it previously released as a “refresher” to the public, the Columbian reported Wednesday. Construction on a bridge replacement is scheduled to begin in April 2026, according to the department’s schedule, with the highway set to reopen in April 2027.
The plan was originally released in February, nine months after a major landslide blocked the road and damaged the Spirit Lake Outlet Bridge. The landslide stranded 12 people and a dog, who had to be rescued by helicopter.
On May 14, 2023, more than 27,000 cubic yards of debris fell from an adjacent hill onto the highway, officials said. The road was covered in mud, rocks, ice and water, and the 85-foot-long bridge was “catastrophically damaged.” That summer, workers built a temporary bypass, but it failed after just four months, forcing WSDOT and the U.S. Forest Service to focus on replacing the bridge.
WSDOT is working on the design of the new bridge according to schedule and expects work to be completed by June.
While Johnston Ridge remains closed, several Mount St. Helens attractions will be open, including the climbing route on the south side of the mountain, visitor centers at Silver Lake and Coldwater Lake, and the Hummocks Trail, which takes a longer route to the famous pumice plains.
