Hummocks Trailhead Mt. St. Helens

The Hummocks Trail (2.4 Miles round trip) (Elevation gain 100ft) is an amazing hike to witness the effect of water on volcanic landscape. Much of the hummocks was once the summit of Mount St. Helens before the 1980 eruption slide the top down the Toutle River Valley. There are self-guided interpretive signs in the first .25 miles of the trail with a connection to the Boundary Trail via JRO. The trail has changed over the years as the ponds grow in size...swamping old trail, sinking bridges and erosion reworking the landscape. This is a great place to view waterfowl, frogs, newts, elk and chipmunks. There is ever primroses growing here! There is no fee to hike on the trail or park at the parking lot.

If you like getting away from the crowds and venturing away from the touristy areas, consider a hike starting at the Hummocks Trailhead. It’s a relatively easy hike, decent for families with younger kids, and offers great alternate views of Mount St. Helens. Our kids were under the age of 10 at the time and managed pretty well hiking up to Boundary Trail No 1 trailhead point, they were a little tired of course, but there was nothing technical about the trail that would make it prohibitive for taking your family on. We also had the opportunity to talk with a volunteer, who was delighted to answer our questions, share rich information about the Mount St. Helens ecosystem, and a lot of information that we might not have otherwise found out about by just glancing through the visitor centers. If you have the chance, engage with park volunteers — they’re a wealth of knowledge and will help you appreciate this unique place. Please remember to stay on the trail and do not walk all over or stamp on the vegetation — despite how resilient the area is, some of the flowers (especially the dwarf mountain lupine, a blue flowered plant with star-like leaves) is key to the restoration of the Mount St. Helens ecosystem.