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Castle Rock,
"Gateway to Mount St. Helens", is on the Cowlitz
River directly off Interstate 5 at Exit 49. In addition
to restaurants, motels, stores and gift shops, Castle Rock
features the CineDome Theater, showing the award winning film
"Eruption of Mount St. Helens" in wide screen format.
Other cultural activities include the Castle Rock Exhibit Hall
displaying carvings, photographs and exhibits relating to the
Mountain. Tours of Mount St. Helens are available. For visitors
interested in watching competition sports, motorcycle racing
takes place on weekends during the months of May to September.
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| At Exit 39 is the city
of Kelso. Established by a native of Kelso,
Scotland in 1847, the city of Kelso was incorporated in 1889 and
became the Cowlitz County seat in 1923. The Mount St. Helens
Volcano and Information Center, located at the Kelso Chamber of
Commerce, provides visitors with many displays and exhibits of
the mountain for their enjoyment. Kelso offers shopping, lodging
and dining, plus the Three Rivers Golf Course, the only 18 hole
golf course constructed on volcanic ash from Mount St.
Helens. Cultural offerings include the Cowlitz County Historical
Museum displays photographs, artifacts and exhibits, visually
depicting the development of Cowlitz County. In September, Kelso
celebrates its Scottish heritage with the annual Highlander
Festival. The Kelso airport supports small private aircraft
while the Kelso train depot is a point of arrival and departure
for Amtrak passengers.
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| Over the Cowlitz River
and directly adjacent to Kelso is the city of Longview,
the largest city in the Lower Columbia River Region. Resting
on the northern bank of the mighty Columbia River, Longview was
founded on the 1805 encampment site of the Lewis & Clark
Western Expedition. Incorporated in 1924, Longview was named for
R. A. Long, a lumberman who dreamed and built this first
"Planned City" in the western United States. Longview
also offers a variety of shopping, lodging and dining options.
Recreational activities include an 18 hole golf course, tennis
courts, baseball fields, sturgeon fishing and year around
boating. Cultural items of interest include the Columbia Theatre
for the Performing Arts, registered historical buildings, art
exhibits, lecture series, summer community concerts, as well as
an annual County Fair hosting the Thunder Mountain Pro Rodeo.
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| Kalama
can be reached from Exit 32. Began in 1853, Kalama is
a quaint little town overlooking the Columbia River and offers a
plethora of unique and antique shops. Kalama offers Native
American folklore and displays, including one of the tallest
single tree totem pole in the world, carved by the late Chief
Don Lelooska of Ariel, Washington. The boat ramp and 222 slip
Kalama marina makes for easy access to the waters of the
Columbia River. Whether looking for antiques and collectibles,
fly fishing the nearby Kalama River, or watching the ships
navigate the Columbia River from the waterfront park, visitors
always find the friendly atmosphere of Kalama enchanting.
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| Woodland
is located off Interstate 5 at Exit 21 and is the
"Gateway to the Lewis River Valley" --- an area noted
for some of the finest fishing and hunting in the state.
Woodland is the home of the famous Hulda Klager Lilac Garden and
the celebration of Lilac Week, during the last week of April -
first week of May, allows public access to the Klager Museum.
The Woodland Tourist Information Center prepares visitors for
another perspective on the mountain as Woodland is also the
southern access point to Mount St. Helens along the Lewis River
Highway (SR-503). Sights along the eastward trek of the Lewis
River Highway include the 1876 Grist Mill historic site on the
south side of the Lewis River and the 18 hole Lewis River Golf
course bordered by the north fork of the Lewis River.
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| Three smaller
communities rest along the Lewis River Highway on the journey
from Woodland towards the Mountain. Ariel, "Home
of Cooper Capers", where the annual Thanksgiving weekend
brings people from all over the world --- the search is still on
for the $200,000 D. B. Cooper jumped with from the Boeing 727.
And the Lelooska Gallery featuring traditional and contemporary
Indian and Western Art, Artifacts and Jewelry. The Lelooska
Foundation Museum & Gallery, can be reached at 165 Merwin
Village Rd, Ariel, 98674, (360) 231-4454, call ahead. The
Lelooska Foundation also presents "Masks, Myths and Magic
from the Northwest Coast Indian Culture" during the year.
Yale has several Mount St. Helens view locations and is the starting
point for exploring Ape Cave. Camping, trailer sites and motels
are available. Yale and Cougar are also known as places where
the search for Big Foot centers. Cougar is
home to the Cougar Store and the Bronze Cougar created by R.W.
Bane. Cougar is the community closest to both Mount St. Helens
and the Cedar Flats Research Natural Area - a short loop trail
through old-growth Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar. |
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