After our day at Arcadia Beach, we took a little jaunt up to Mount Saint Helens. The drive up there is mainly through thick trees with no cell service and so beautiful! Some of the views are just incredible. After so many years of mountain roads and views, I’m finally comfortable with them and can actually enjoy them! First summer I drove them, back in 2012, I will never forget. One of my sisters was with me and the kids, and I was so nervous going up the passes, that semis were passing me! And they go so slow that they have hazards on. It was so embarrassing. 😂🙈

We stopped first at Coldwater Lake, as it’s just a few miles before the Johnston Ridge visitors center and Mount St Helens. We walked the trail to the lake and then walked along the short wooden planked bridge along the shore to see the views.

After just being at Lake McDonald in Glacier, Coldwater Lake was a bit tame!

I think there are more hikes you can do around this lake, but it was a hot day, I was carrying Freya, and we were still planning to do a short hike at Mount St Helens.

I always love this part of arriving at the Visitors center at Mount St Helens. It’s so thrilling to see the mountain just right there, in your face.

There wasn’t much for wildflowers this trip as opposed to the last one. But the sky was clear, and you could see the mountain so well. We only hiked for maybe 45 minutes this time. The steep edges off the trail had me feeling a lot more anxious this time with the kids. And I noticed storm clouds building in the distance and no way did I want to be on that trail if rain started!

Favorite drink for a hike! Seriously if you haven’t had alani energy drinks, you need to try them. This flavor is one of my favs.

Some pretty little flowers scattered along the side of the trail.

Hikes with a baby are always a workout! She refuses going into her carrier so I have to actually carry her, but I don’t mind. 🙂 Photo credit on this one to my 4 year old! She loves taking photos.

After we got back to the parking lot, we got coffees at a little trailer they had set up. They weren’t fabulous, but a decent pick me up after the hike! Plus I always like to have a coffee while driving in the mountains.

Hope you enjoyed a few photos from our mountain day! Such a fun place to hike around and I hope you get a chance to check it out someday!