The Ape Canyon trail starts at 2,800’.
Our main objective for going to Mt. St. Helens was to ride the Ape Canyon Trail, which has gotten glowing reviews from mountain bikers.
It was a rough night—our new Coleman inflatable mattress sprang a leak and we lost a lot of sleep languishing on bare ground.
The climb is strenuous, and pretty humid in the trees.
The trail can be divided into three parts: a steep four-mile climb in the forest, a flat section on the eastern flanks of the volcano, and a traverse along steep ridges to approach Windy Ridge.
The section in the trees is amazingly smooth, but a pretty steady 1,400’ climb.
Uphill, then downhill, then more uphill.
The climb through the trees is on a ridge bordered to the west by the Muddy River lahar. There’s a half-mile downhill half the way up followed by another 1.5 miles of climbing.
The view from Ape Canyon, with Mt. Adams in the distance.
After 4.5 miles of climbing you reach Ape Canyon and are out of the trees.
Just past Butt Crack.
There’s some more climbing up a bare pumice trail around Ape Canyon itself before you reach the Plains of Abraham. The Ape Canyon trail intersects with the southeastern end of the Loowit Trail, which circumnavigates the volcano.
Ape Canyon has a very short section called Butt Crack that has some exposure. It was too loose to ride up, but we both rode down it on the way back.
Starting the moony section of the ride.
Mt. St. Helens has very little snow on it this late in the year.
The trail winds around several drainages, some of which feature sharp dropoffs on the eastern flanks with waterfalls during the wetter months.
A profusion of wildflowers.
We found one drainage with running water before reaching the Plains of Abraham.
Large cairns mark the trail.
The Plains of Abraham is a two-mile slightly uphill section with few features besides large pumice boulders here and there.
The intersection of the Abraham Trail and the Loowit Trail.
The Plains of Abraham concludes at the northeastern intersection of the Loowit Trail.
A ridgy section through the blow-down.
The section leading to Windy Ridge winds through steep ridges with wildflowers and old blown-down trees from the 1980 eruption.
Our turnaround point, with Mt. Rainier in the background.
We originally planned on riding all the way to Windy Ridge road, but the ride was longer and harder than we expected, so we turned around on a ridge above the road.
Starting back.
The trail is very smooth and non-technical throughout. There are only a couple of spots around drainages where the trail gets rocky.
More wildflowers.
The views are fantastic—steep ridges, flowers everywhere, and Cascade volcanos off in the distance.
Look at that dike!
Even though the trail winds around steep ridges, there’s no drop-offs to worry about.
Heading back up to the Plains of Abraham.
After making the short climb back up to the Plains, we hurried back down the trail.
The tree section is especially fun, as it’s smooth dirt all the way down.
Many riders call Ape Canyon their all-time favorite trail. I wouldn’t put it in that category; it’s kind of like the Flume Trail, spectacular, but sandy and non-technical.
Stopping by the lahar, about a quarter-mile from the trailhead.
After our ride, we hiked the 1.5 mile Lava Canyon interpretive trail, which is located at the same parking lot as the Ape Canyon trailhead.
The Lava Canyon trail features a 100’ suspension bridge across the river.
The trail features views of lahar damage, waterfalls, and the steep Muddy River canyon.
Checking out the waterfalls.
It was a long day of biking and hiking. Afterwards, we spent two hours driving in the dark before finding a campground closer to Hood River.
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