the forest learning center

Along our ride down from Johnston Ridge, we stopped at many turnouts and attractions as we could fit in. This was one of them. It was FREE to enter. However, the shop was very touristy and pricey. They have customers over a barrel, one can of Pepsi was $1.50 and so was the bottle of water. Unfortunately we where very thirsty and needed something to drink since we had drank all our water supply up. (It was in the 90's) . The gifts where very typical and very pricey. Even more then then the store up on Johnston Ridge. You can learn stuff about the forest, plants and animals here. They even offer a padded play area for little kids and a covered picnic area to eat at. Maybe they should have a donation box to help off set the cost of the Learning Center and lower the price of the beverages.

We visited the forest learning center after Johnston Ridge. We enjoyed both places, but the Forest learning center has a better museum than the Johnston Ridge site. Johnston Ridge has a better view of the mountain though. If I could only visit one I would visit the Johnston Ridge site as it has the view. However if I has to choose which had better exhibits I would say the Forest Learning center. I do feel Weyerhauser runs the place for P.R. but I really like it and my kids both told me it was nicer, and I agreed. Forgive me National Parks! They have good parking, a playground area, and nice bathrooms. They also have a gift shop about the same as the Johnson Ridge site.I wanted to include pictures but I did not take any. Very strange. Anyway it is nice. I think I was more interested in reading the exhibits than taking pictures.

There was a lot of information in this center. It is privately owned and very well done. As an ex-school teacher, my first thought was surely the schools bring students here for a field trip.

Plan to stop here on your way up or down the mountain. Free admission. Hands on exhibits (including a helicopter). Short informative movie. This is a great place to get your family excited to see the mountain in her full glory.

Ya gotta take ALL day to stop at all the awesome facilities. This is a must stop esp. with kids. Just know that they are CLOSED ON THURSDAYS!

If you are going to visit Mt. St. Helen's, you must stop here and enjoy all the exhibits, the hands-on activities, and the movie. You will definitely leave knowing much more about this whole devastating event that occurred on May 18, 1980. There is a real nice gift shop with much merchandise. We always want to buy something to support national parks. You will have a side view of the mountain from the center.

The 2014 operating schedule is as follows; Exhibits are open May 9 – September 1, Friday – Wednesday (closed Thursday), 10am – 4pm; The gift shop, restrooms, and outdoor facilities are open May - October, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily.

This is one of three "official" visitor centers; the other two are the Forest Service one at the volcano and the one run by the State of WA near Castle Rock. This one has been provided by the forest products industry and does have some interesting information about managed forests and forestry but primarily it is an opportunity for the industry to pat itself on the back for its reforestation activities after the eruption. It doesn't have much to add about the eruption that isn't covered in more detail at the other two, but it does have an interesting little exhibit explaining why people near the eruption couldn't hear it. Local people will tell you this was true, but neither of the other two centers mentions it.

This place was GREAT! My 4 year old enjoyed it - the movie was informative but nice and short - only 5 minutes. The activities were very hands-on. There was a volunteer who stopped me to show me and the 4 year old a hands-on activity we had missed. The information there was super interesting. It was not just a place about logging and timber. It had info. about some of the disaster's survivors and their experiences, and showed how far people could hear the eruption on a map. The amazing part is that it was all free.The gift shop at the end was the best - my boys walked out with a bear claw necklace, a great station where you can choose your favorite rocks to take home in a bag, and just lots of really cool things like that that kids love. The outdoor views were great and the playground was also perfect for getting out boys' energy before we headed up to Johnston Ridge. Nice job Weyerhaeuser!!!!

Pretending to be an informational attraction this is really a place to lobby for timbering the forests and to sell souvenirs.

This site 40 Minutes from interstate 5 (without any other stops, good luck with that) and is free admission. Well worth the stop on your way to Johnson Ridge Observatory. Lots of information on the regrowth of the forest around Mount St. Helens.There is a tremendous view from the parking lot looking up the North Fork of the Toutle River to Mount St. Helens in the distance. A short walk up a paved path at the end of the Learning Center gives you a view up and down the valley of the Toutle River. The Toutle River still shows the effects of the debris flows from the May 18, 1980 eruption.There are telescopes mounted at the top of the path and on the parking lot rim for viewing the elk in the meadows on the river bottom (best opportunity is early morning or late evening) or looking at the mountain.Leave enough time for Science & Learning Center (also free) which has a great view down on Coldwater Lake and Mount St. Helens in the distance. Also, stop at Coldwater Lake and from the 1st parking lot you come to there is a paved path that takes off by the bathrooms that leads to a boardwalk that winds out onto the lake. We saw trout swimming below in the crystal clear water.The most critical is to leave time for the Johnson Ridge Observatory.......A MUST SEE!!!!!

My kids liked this the best of all the St. Helens visitor centers. It is newer and hands tons of hands-on items plus multiple methods of explaining things to keep kids interested.

This Forest Learning Center is free because the exhibits are provided by the biggest logging company in the area. I didn't find the exhibits very useful but the bathrooms were clean and there was a nice playground for the kids. What I liked best about this place was the gift shop which, IMHO, has the best selection on the mountain. The gift shop carries all the items one expects to find at the major national parks...TGT stickers, t-shirts, knickknacks, postcards, etc. The variety was quite good and much larger than the official observatories run by the Forest Service. Since Mount St. Helen's is a monument and not a Nat'l park, souvenirs in the government-run gift shops are limited.

The 2013 operating schedule is as follows; Exhibits are open May 17 - September 2, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. daily; The gift shop, restrooms, and outdoor facilities are open May 17 - October 31, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. daily.

Good view, nice little gift shop, and good break from the long drive. Make sure you travel on a clear day. Clouds will definitely affect your views...