Longview North / Mount St Helens KOA

The Great Outdoors

The most logical destination on your trip is just steps past Johnston Ridge Visitor Center; the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is an up-close look at the mountain and volcano, with year-round access and interpretive talks in the summer. Book an RV in Cowlitz County, and this destination and many others will be within your reach. The monument can be experienced from several directions - west, east, and south. The crater itself can be viewed from the west and east areas, which also have picnic areas and trails for you to hike. If forest canopy is more your thing, the south area has caves, waterfalls, and lush tree stands, plus lava flows interspersed among the vegetation.If cultivated landscapes sound interesting to you (and they are a nice counterbalance to the Pacific Northwest terrain), point your motorhome rental towards Lake Sacajawea Park Japanese Gardens near Longview. This magnificent garden is located on an island accessed by a bridge and is a re-creation of the Japanese gardens witnessed by its founder during WWII. The gardens fell into disrepair for a time but have since been restored according to the original development.Closer to Longview North / Mount Saint Helens KOA, you'll find Seaquest State Park across the highway from Silver Lake but still with its own strengths and importance. It can be reached by tunnel from the Silver Lake Visitor Center, and it has numerous trails where you can hike or go mountain biking. Park your rental motorhome at the center and bring a camera with you as the trails wind through stands of secondary old-growth trees; one of the trails winds around Silver Lake and through wetlands using a boardwalk to protect the vegetation. The park has a playground for younger kids with a human-made dune just for them.

Exploring The Area

You will want to spend some time in the nearby cities as well as the outdoors to experience the culture that has grown here. Castle Rock is a small town nestled among the trees that make up the heart of Washington timber country but don't let that fool you. This friendly village has a family-owned and operated winery that offers tastings of its products. Castle Rock also has a lavender farm outside of town where the owners use their flowers to create essential oils, handmade soaps, creams and lotions, and more (you should definitely sample the flavored rock salt and honey products). The town has a selection of restaurants, mostly serving traditional American food, but a few have international cuisines such as Mexican and Chinese food.If you would prefer a city with a little more to offer, head north towards Chehalis which is a short, 30-mile drive away. There are several museums here, one dedicated to the local railroad history and another focusing on war veterans. If you like architecture and nature, there are churches and a cemetery that is well kept and has diverse markers and headstones; one is even crafted from petrified wood. The plots date back as early as the mid-1800s. Chehalis also has a reputable food scene with pub and country kitchen restaurants, cafes and bakeries, and more.Whatever it is you're looking for, either in town or out in the countryside, Cowlitz County has it, and Longview North / Mount Saint Helens KOA is where you'll make it a reality.