Seaquest State Park & Silver Lake•Washington

00:00     Title
00:15     Seaquest State Park
02:15     Silver Lake
04:15     Highway 504
08:20     Castle Lake Overlook
10:35     Coldwater Lake
12:35     Loowit Viewpoint
16:35     Johnston Ridge Observatory
19:44     Fin

For those who yearn to explore Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington, camping off-site is the only option. There are several national forest campsites nearby and there are a few RV campgrounds along the main thoroughfares. One of the best options by far is Seaquest State Park, which is easy to overlook when casually passing through. 

Seaquest State Park is located on Highway 504 directly across the street from Silver Lake and the Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument Visitor Center. The convenience makes this a great little spot to set up a basecamp. This spread only covers about 500 acres and most of this park devoted to campground space. There actually is a highway underpass tunnel from this campground to the visitor center and Silver Lake, so it does not get much better than this!

During the summer season, Seaquest State Park turns into a lush rainforest environment. Those who are familiar with Washington already know all too well that the chance of rain is nearly always higher than the odds of having a sunny day. For this reason, it goes without saying that waterproof gear will be necessary when camping at Seaquest. As expected, drizzling rain came down during my entire camping venture at Seaquest, which actually was a cool experience. The sound of rain drops falling through the tall trees at night is like music to the ears.

​Seaquest State Park offers more than 50 campsites and full RV hookup sites are available. The facilities are well maintained and there are showers onsite, although the rain serves the same purpose. The pedestrian tunnel to the Mount St Helens Visitor Center is also the gateway to Silver Lake, which is a large body of water at the base of the big volcano. Silver Lake offers swimming, boating and fishing, so there are plenty of fun activities to experience close by. Best of all, the fees are quite reasonable for camping in this cozy spot, so be sure to keep Seaquest State Park in mind when planning a Mount St Helens adventure!