Discover lava tube caves, old-growth forests, waterfalls, and more on a guided tour of Mt. St. Helens. The park’s vastness and variety of attractions can be overwhelming on your own, but by visiting with a guide you don’t miss any of the highlights. Plus, you can learn about the area’s geology, ecology, and history—much of which you might miss if visiting the park on your own.

Explore Mt. St. Helens on a guided trip from Portland
Lunch and headlamps (for exploring the cave) are provided so you don’t have to plan ahead
Stop at top vistas, including an overlook of Mt. St. Helens (weather permitting)
Enjoy convenient hotel pickup and drop-off in Portland

What's Included

Lunch
Air-conditioned vehicle
PA system to hear guide while driving
Snacks
Bottled water
Headlamps
If weather does not allow mountain visibility, a modified itinerary will take you to bonus stops.
Professional naturalist guide
Hotel pickup/drop-off in Portland area
Gratuities

Hotel pickup/drop-off in Seattle area

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

523 NE 19th Ave
523 NE 19th Ave, Portland, OR 97232, USA

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Start time

08:00 am

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

*We do not guarantee pickup at your hotel, as we consolidate pickups to 3 locations. We also do not do pickups in Hillsboro.* We will contact you the evening prior to confirm pickup location and time.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Not wheelchair accessible
Not recommended for travellers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travellers
No heart problems or other serious medical conditions

This tour operates in all weather conditions, and the cave is 42F (5.5C). Please dress in layers.
We recommend shoes that are suitable for minor rock climbing (i.e. scrambling/bouldering).
Travellers should have a moderate physical fitness level
Wear long pants, as there will be opportunities for crawling.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 14 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveller Photos

Reviews

4.5

29 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-9 of 29 reviews

Nice to let someone else take the wheel on a daring adventure.

Terrence_E, Oct 2022

Great experience. Not much to say but it was what my wife and I needed. We totally would not do that drive ourselves.

Trip was great, owner was aweful!

Melinda_D, Oct 2022

My one-star rating is due to the way the owner of the company Marcus spoke to me prior to the tour, hung up on me after repeated attempts to get a few simple questions answered, and ignored my question once I arrived at the pickup destination. The trip itself was awesome. Our guide Brittany was great! The tour was well worth the expense, although it's tough to know my money in lining the pockets of a business owner who treats his clients the way I was treated. I reached out to try to discuss a pickup point other than downtown Portland as it is dangerous to leave your car there and to be a single female walking around after dark (we didn't arrive back from the trip until after dark). I was also trying to avoid the extra expense of taking an Uber to the meeting destination. When texting me, Marcus the owner, seemed to be confused about what I was trying to accomplish so I asked him to call me. (After rereading the initial message I sent through Viator I noted a typo and it could have been confusing so I thought a call would be helpful). He called, but the call did not go well. My goal was to ask if I could meet at a place that would be safe to leave my vehicle along the route the van would take to drive to the mountain. While attempting to speak, Marcus kept cutting me off. I was never allowed to finish a sentence. I don't think he ever understood I was trying to find an alternate meeting spot to leave my car. When I mentioned I didn't understand why they wouldn't pick me up in Hillsboro he said it would add 1-2 hours to the driver's trip. That is simply not true, it's a 20-minute drive from my complex to the downtown meeting spot. As the attempted conversation went on he seemed to get more frustrated and at one point shouted at me "I am f*cking working 100 hours a week and have a god d*mn baby here". After that explosion, I asked him to stop swearing at me. At another point, he stated, "I am concerned about my driver having to spend 13 hours with you". I asked why he would say something like that to a customer. I am sure the driver would share that we had a great day, she was kind and gave me referrals for other things to do while I am in town. When she dropped me off she remarked "it was nice to spend the day with you" and I tipped her well. Marcus ended up hanging up on me while I was in mid-sentence saying "I've been excited for this trip since I book it and I am simply"... that's when he hung up. I was never able to make clear to Marcus I was willing to drive or meet the van at a safe location to leave my vehicle. Ultimately I had to take an Uber which added $40 to the cost of the excursion that day. After our call, I then spent the next few hours deciding if I wanted this horrible exchange to stop me from taking the trip. I also kept looking to see if he might cancel it on me. I decided the trip was worth taking. It was a hard decision to make as my money is going to him. Marcus never called to apologize for his outburst, swearing at me and for hanging up on me. I was only given an address to meet at, it was a hotel. There were no instructions as to where to meet, ie: lobby, outside etc. When I arrived at the hotel I text to let him know I was there and asked specifically where we were to meet, but that text was ignored. Paying for my Uber might be a nice gesture or an olive branch for enduring his abuse, but I'm not counting on it.

Ape cave was amazing-a...

Julissa_G, Aug 2022

Ape cave was amazing-a true adventure. Mt. St. Helens was a true beauty! We were so glad to get close to see the actual crater. Our director, Marcus led a fascinating excursion; highly recommended this journey.

Total Failure of Tour Guide

mrsrp89, Aug 2022

As much as we were charged for this tour it was not worth for what we paid for. This could have been one of the better tours but our Tour Guide (I will not mention her name-our trip was on July 19,2022). She was uninformative, needs some reading, & re-education. I could be more specific about what questions we asked her but it will take a lot of space. For example: the steps near Spirit Lake, trees, or rocks in the cave but she did not know. She would just stop our bus & not inform us why or where we’re stopping. She was quiet most of the time. When we were at the lava cave some of our head lights would turn off w no back up batteries. She did not have a functioning back up for her own headlamp either. She was unprepared. This was a total disservice to us-tourist.

Response from Host, Aug 2022

My apologies, as the guide did not meet our expectations. This is the first complaint we've had about her on this tour, so I'm wondering if this was a sleep issue. I will shadow her and make corrections where necessary.

Unique experience

Kevin_K, July 2022

Lava tube cave, clear day to view Mount St Helen’s. Had sufficient time to climb to observation. The drive was long and winding but worth it. Finished day viewing Horsetail Falls. Lunch was underwhelming but snacks were good.

Great trip, but it is a very long day of driving.

Larry_B, Sept 2021

Walking in Ape Cave and getting close to the Summit of Mt. St. Helens we’re both awesome and worth the trip alone. Carrie did a great job of overcoming an early flat tire(although it didn’t seem like she got a lot of support from her boss). Food was average. We compared it less favorably on to the Evergreen Escapes tour we took to Olympic National Park, where there were grilled chicken, beet salad, pasta salad

Full day fantastic experience

Carolyn_C, Aug 2021

Beautiful views. Ape cave was very cool. Carrie our tour guide was very knowledgeable and fun to talk to. We had a great time!

Absolutely Amazing!!

Darren C, Oct 2019

Wow...did this trip a few weeks ago in September 2019 and it was AWESOME. If I could give it 6 stars out of 5 I would. The pre-tour communication was great and pick-up was punctual. Marcus was fantastic and very knowledgeable about the wildlife and geology (I am a geologist and could fact check him on the geology, and he got it right which was impressive!!!). The itinerary was tailored to the weather conditions to get the best out of the day, and there were also some unplanned photo opportunities that Marcus was happy to stop for (the kind of thing you don't get from big bus tours). The tour packed in all the highlights from Johnston Ridge to Ape cave and we saw the mighty Mt St Helens from all sides....it was the only tour where you get to experience all of those things in one day. Thank you very much for the day Marcus....I have wanted to see the mountain for many many years as a geologist, and the tour did not disappoint!!

Response from Host, Nov 2019

Darren, thank you for the awesome review! It is always a pleasure taking someone out who REALLY appreciates the geology. It was a fantastic day indeed!

Best Tour Ever

Trail00465231701, July 2019

I would recommend this tour because this tour took us to places we would never have gone on our. Our tour guide was fanominal. He was knowledgeable about the entire Portland area, wildlife, and plant species. When the viability of the mountain was poor he made sure he took us to other places. We went into the lava tubes, walked through forrest, saw waterfalls, and we even saw elk! Overall this tour had everything in one tour!

Response from Host, July 2019

Lori, thank you for the gracious review! Marcus said you and Phil were good sports about the lack of visibility, and adapted well to the compensatory itinerary. We hope you were able to see the volcano on the drive to Seattle the next day!