The Lava Canyon Trail

My lovely neighbor moved away out of state and as a result she gave me several Oregon and Washington hiking books. My family and I decided to find a new place to explore on Sunday afternoon. We ended up finding a fun hike in the book, 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon and Southwest Washington by William L. Sullivan . We chose hike #27 Lava Canyon up near Mt St Helens in Washington State. The kids thought the suspension bridge looked fun and maybe a little scary. Lava Canyon was formed by a Mt St Helen lava flow that coursed down the Muddy River's valley 3500 years ago.

I would have to say this is not a very kid friendly trail at least not for little 3 year olds. I had my youngest in a vice grips hand hold the whole time and Papa carried her over the suspension bridge. There are steep metal staircases to climb as well as sheer drop offs into the churning waters of the Muddy River.Quite the adventure. 

The view of Mt St Helens before the trailhead is amazing, so close you can almost lick the snow off.

My camera died in the car before we even started the hike, boy was I sad. Thank goodness Ben has a fancy phone with a decent camera, whew.

I can't wait to explore more in this area. I just love the Mt St Helens area, just stunning.