Gifford Pinchot National Forest
The Gifford Pinchot National Forest provides a wide variety of recreation opportunities, including the 110,000 acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
The Gifford Pinchot National Forest is one of the oldest National Forests in the United States. Included as part of the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve in 1897, this area was set aside as the Columbia National Forest in 1908. It was renamed the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in 1949, after the first Chief of the Forest Service, Gifford Pinchot.Whether you seek solitude, social activity, creative inspiration, wildlife, forest products or scenic beauty, you can find it in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. Located in southwest Washington State, the forest now encompasses 1,312,000 acres and includes the 110,000-acre Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument established by Congress in 1982.
You can also explore Mount St. Helens, from the easy surroundings of the Coldwater Ridge Visitor Center and the Johnston Ridge Observatory, or hike to the very edge of the crater!
In addition to visiting the volcano, you can hike, backpack, climb mountains, fish or paddle. The Gifford Pinchot also has seven Wilderness Areas with incredible scenery and unmatched solitude.