Mount St. Helens Visitor Center, Seaquest State Park close temporarily

OLYMPIA – The Mount St. Helens Visitor Center in Castle Rock, a gateway for exploring and learning about the Mount St. Helens area, will close Sept. 30 for a complete update to its exhibits. The visitor center is anticipated to reopen in May of 2025.

Seaquest State Park will also close from Sept. 15 through mid-October to complete road maintenance work, including road grading and surfacing. After this work is complete, the park will remain open through the winter for camping and day use.

Though the interpretive center itself will be closed, its parking lot, plaza, bathrooms and Wetland Haven Trail will remain open through the winter. Visitors can still see the mountain from the trail on clear days.

Parks staff will also continue to host outdoor educational and interpretive programing through the closure. Programs will be held in the visitor center’s plaza, on the Wetland Haven Trail or in Seaquest State Park.

Exhibit update

Many of the center’s exhibits were constructed in 1986, making them almost 40 years old. Since then, the area affected by Mount St. Helens’ 1980 eruption has changed dramatically. In addition to showcasing the geological and biological history of the region, the new exhibits will document the regrowth and transformation of the area in the last 44 years.

As part of this renovation, Parks is engaged in Tribal outreach and conversations.

For more information, please visit our project page.