Ghost Lake

Seldom used, yet scenic, ride along the Boundary Trail at Mount St Helens NVM.

Elk Pass Trailhead to Ghost Lake as an out and back. Round trip 18 miles. Scenic.

This might be one of the rides for Helens Fest 2010. The possibilities include addding a loop on Strawberry Ridge and call it the Ghost Lake Deathmarch!

How to Find It

Northwest Forest Pass required at Elk Pass Trailhead.

From Portland (South). Estimated drive: 100 miles, 2.5 hours.

North on I-5 to Woodland, exit 21.

East to Cougar.

North on Hwy 25 to Elk Pass.

From Seattle (North). Estimated drive: 135 miles, 3 hours.

From Randle WA, it is 23 miles on back roads to Elk Pass Trailhead.

Take Hwy 131 South for a short while.

Just a mile past Randle, take the right fork, look for signs towards Mt St Helens and Hwy 25. Pass Iron Creek Campground 10 miles past Randle.

19 miles past Randle, blow past the intersection with FR 99 which is the fork on the right towards Windy Ridge. Instead, continue 4 miles to Elk Pass Trailhead.

Typical Conditions

Scenic. Expect to be hot. As the out and back returns to the TOP of Elk Pass, have plenty of energy for the return trip. See the image for the elevation profile. Expect to ride for six hours, give or take a couple hours. Some parts of the trail may be rutted, likely not significant enough to be a buzzkill, but likely enough to recommend beginners to seek easier trail.

Local Points of Interest

Bear Meadow viewpoint. Within a short drive of Windy Ridge.

Turn by Turn

• Trail begins at the top of Elk Pass, elevation 4075 feet.
• Follow the Boundary Trail #1 Northwest towards Bear Meadow where you will cross over Hwy 99.
• Take the spur trail #1H to Ghost Lake.
• Return along the way you came.

A fun alternative might be to continue along Boundary trail to Norway Pass Trailhead, which would be a long day and quite a commitment as you already have a significant climb out of the blast zone near Ghost Lake (see elevation profile).

Another alternative would be to start at Bear Meadow TH and link up with the Norway Pass ride if you want to explore that section of trail without having as much commitment.

Be advised, the return trip as seen on elevation profile between mile 10 and 13 involves climbing 700 feet, which will be in the blast zone and likely hot. Afterwards, there are 3 more climbs on the return, so you may want to think twice if you wish to tack on extra mileage. If you think you may have extra reserves, you could finish the ride to Elk Pass, but continue East along the Boundary Trail as far as you can handle.