hoffstadt bluffs visitor center

Great view. Lots of things in the gift shop. Can't beat the view. Worth the trip. Great view of the mountain and surrounding area.

This has a good view of the valley where most of the valcanic flow travelled. There is a nice gift shop and some food services. There is also a volcano helicopter tour that runs to the mt. It was a little expensive so we didn't go, but I would have liked to try that for a few less dollars!

This is the ultimate visitors center before entering the National Monument. While you won't get the geology that you do at the Johnston Ridge Observatory you do get a sense of what it was like on the outer edges of the blast zone. It is beautiful here. The visitors center feels like a large log cabin situated in a clearing. There is a beautiful deck that overlooks the Toutle River. Inside you will find a very well appointed gift shop with snacks, clothes and other Mt. St. Helens' items. There is a surprisingly upscale restaurant which features elk burgers, raspberry glazed salmon, sandwiches and espresso. Local newspapers from the time of the eruption are on display in the breeze way leading to the clean, modern restrooms. There are hiking trails and ample parking on the property.

Nice stop on the way to Johnston Ridge, Id recommend stopping at all the main points along this route to get the whole picture. Information center, visitors center alike. easy to do everything in one day. Great experience!

I stopped on my way up to the Mountain and am glad I did. This is commercial venture and they do a nice job. It is light on exhibits but the ones they have are fun and different that what you get at all the other stops. The gift shop was the best of the bunch and there is a nice play area and picnic area. Also if you forgot to bring a lunch, they have a restaurant. It is defiantly worth stopping at and great place to stretch your legs.

You won't be disappointed if you take the time to pull into the smaller of the two main Mt. St. Helens visitor centers (Johnson Ridge has a clear view of the eruption site side of the volcano and is the mother of all visitor centers). We stopped in to check into the helicopter tours, and decided to go. Our pilot was fantastic, and we flew, yes flew, into the center of the crater 8,000 feet high, in the mouth of Mt. St. Helens! We saw steaming lava domes and hovered in the sky at the point where the mountain was, 9,600 feet high, before the 1980 eruption. The vistas were unbelievable. I, yes even I, was speechless. Awed. My daughter is six, and had the time of her life. She is a volcano enthusiast and we were there to see and learn about volcanos where real volcanos were, and not from our living room.On the headphones, while in the helicopter, as it was taking off for the live, steaming volcano, I heard my daughter's sweet little voice in my headphone earpiece: "You are the coolest Mom ever!"That, and a helicopter ride into Mt. St. Helens, too...I almost imploded with excitement.PS We got all our gifts in their great little gift shop, way way better than the few offerings at Johnson Ridge.

The surprise wasn't how great the helicopter ride over the Mt. St. Helen's Crater was....You just knew that would be stunning on a sunny day! The surprise was how great the food was at the restaurant. grass fed beef, elk and buffalo burgers grilled to perfection, fresh greens, beer batter fries...and they happily serve the burger as a side to a wonderful salad. Did I say onion rings and fruit cobbler? After a morning hiking around the observatory, we (15 year old grandson and I) were so ready for good food and we got it!

This is the lower of the Mt. St. Helens view Visitor Centers and it's the weaker of the two important centers (Johnson Ridge is quite a bit better). The exhibits are older and geared more toward children than the general public. If you have time only for one view point, skip this one and go up to Johnson Ridge.

Another interesting stop on the Mt. St. Helens road. Be sure to stop there as it is very interesting and informative too.

Not only were the ppl friendly and helpful at the gift shop, the place was awesome. The Lobby was welcoming and cool for hot days, It had leather couches and chairs, a fireplace with a huge overhanging changelier made of elk horns....Their was a great grill, outside and inside with views of mt st Helens. The food was awesome. The halibut and chips was the best I have ever had. im picky. a wee high priced but its wild halibut and no fried, breaded halibut compares to theirs, very lightly breaded, cripy, meaty.....awesome. best ever.there was an upstairs but we didn't see it.

We drive the Mt. St. Helens viewing areas a couple times a year. Hoffstadt has a pretty good restaurant and gift shop. Also many items to view inside of the eruption. Outside visitors can view the mudflows through telescopes and can see the volcano from a distance. This is the furthest visitors center from the volcano.

Don't waste your time at the restaurant or gift shop. There was one person on site to handle both, and they were completely overwhelmed.

Amazing views, nicely architected building, gift shop and decent restaurant. This is about the best executed visitor center I've seen by a county! There is a helicopter pad there too. Quite a contrast to the dated State Visitor Center at the beginning of the highway.

This a super nice Vistor Center withe lots of information and origianl newspapers from the explosion. The helicopter tour of the crater is a must do it was really a once in a lifetime experience. My kids are still talking about it. The guide Soren (sp.0 was really knowledgable and friendly even with a 5 year olds questions. My husband loved the heliclopter tour it was his favorite. If you are in the area stop here and ride the helicopter.

Yes, it's expensive and it might not be worth it on a cloudy day. But we were lucky to have a perfectly clear day, and this was simply the most thrilling travel experience of my life. The employees were professional and highly safety conscious, and the pilot's commentary was invaluable and we flew directly over the crater. We didn't book in advance, fearing poor weather and had no trouble walking right up and booking the next flight - had to wait maybe 30 minutes, which we spent admiring the mountain views. Don't fall for the advertised price of $99, though. That trip doesn't go all the way to the mountain. It's the $169 crater tour that you want. And it's worth every penny.