Location: Castle Rock
Top Things to do in Castle Rock
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The 10 Best Things to Do in Castle Rock, United States
Castle Rock is a city in Cowlitz County, Washington, United States. Located between the Willapa Hills and western base of Mount St. Helens, Castle Rock is at the heart of Washington timber country in the Pacific temperate rain forest. Castle Rock is part of the Longview, Washington Metropolitan Statistical Area; the population was 1,982 as of the 2010 census.
Restaurants in Castle Rock
1. Mount St. Helens Visitor Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 375 reviews
This Forest Service facility gives an overview of Cascade Range volcanism and the events before and after May 18, 1980.
Reviewed By YorksRick
Called in on way to viewing the summit and definitely a worthwhile experience explaining the 1980 eruption and its effects on the landscape as well as the human impacts. 3D walk in model of volcano was brilliant as well as seeing how the volcano is monitored and the equipment used. Also it is useful to see the live cam summit view to see what to expect and the weather forecast before setting out. We picked a day when we knew we would get a decent view
2. Treehouse Island Zipline Adventures
Overall Ratings
5 based on 41 reviews
Take a Zip Trip on beautiful Treehouse Island! Experience the thrill of 6 zip lines, rope bridges & ladders with friendly, fun guides! Enjoy a scenic boat ride to & from the island with a view of Mt. St. Helen's. On the island, be wowed by our treehouse, explore the trails, relax in the grassy park, or enjoy the fire pit. We offer group discounts, island only passes, & private parties.
Reviewed By jkcrane - Oceanside, California
We found this adventure to be really fun and unique in that you take a boat ride (pontoon boat) over to a island to get to the zip lines, by far this is the most unique zip that we have been on so far (1 in Hawaii's big island and 1 at Camp Verde AZ.-zipping over lions ). The tour starts at the office getting you checked in and then over to the boat for a short ride (5-10 min.) across the lake and over to the island, once there ,Grady and Zak do a great job of getting you familiar with the zip line gear that you will be using to move around in the trees, with positive clips for everywhere that you go when not on the ground. Graysion makes sure that you understand the equipment and the rules before you ever climb up to start zipping. Like most zip lines you start off on a short zip that is not to high off the ground just to get familiar with the equipment and to build your self confidence, along comes some suspension bridges to get you a little higher and before you know it you are off the ground 75 foot standing on a platform in a pine tree and zipping across the forest on a island with a grin from ear to ear ( how can you not grin when zipping ) Grady gets you started ( locked onto the line ,gear checked ) than a incredible ride across the forest until Zak slows you down for the landing at the other end and disconnects you and then on to the next ear to ear grinning ride. the last zip line brings you back toward the ground and then after getting out of all of the gear, you get another boat ride back to shore. We took our daughter on this adventure and we all had a great time. Thanks again to Grady and Zak at Treehouse ziplines, I start to grin just thinking about what a adventure it was. THANKS AGAIN ! !
3. Spirit Lake Memorial Highway
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 76 reviews
A broad scenic route stretching from I-5 right through the Mount St. Helens blast area.
Reviewed By simpleyme - Washington
This is a lovely stretch of road, neat bridges and trees just lovley,when we were there we were freaked out as there were huge webs in the trees ,really freaky! Googled it turns out they are just Tent caterpillars
4. Johnston Ridge Observatory
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 47 reviews
Reviewed By lynnlees62 - Edmonton, Canada
This place was amazing. The views of the mountain and the aftermath of the volcano eruption was great. There were 2 videos in the theater and I would recommend watching both. We also listened as one of the rangers gave a talk outside which was very informative. There is a cost to visit the center but it is well worth it!
5. The Forest Learning Center
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 67 reviews
A museum chronicling the effect of the Mount St. Helen's eruption on the neighboring trees and plantlife.
Reviewed By simpleyme - Washington
plenty of parking, use the restroom walk up the little trail fo the view ,they have a cute gift shop and neat displays. Great stop and it is free!
6. Hummocks Trail
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 18 reviews
Reviewed By johnmc82 - Port Orange, Florida
Spent a great morning exploring the trails near Mt. St. Helens during the American Volkssporting Association National Convention Walk on Hummocks Trail and at the nearby lake. Breathtaking views of the mountain, and the trails give you and up-close look at the results of the eruption and aftermath 35 years later.
7. Castle Rock Lavender
Overall Ratings
4 based on 5 reviews
Reviewed By scubadadSeattle - Seattle
Castle Rock Lavender was a little piece of heaven! The little lavender farm is simply beautiful! It was my 12 year old daughter's favorite activity on this camping trip! It was so fun and peaceful cutting the lavender. There are thousands of honey bees buzzing around!
8. Loowit Trail #216
Overall Ratings
4 based on 3 reviews
A challenging trail traversing the rock-covered landscape formed by the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.
Reviewed By Syreeta A - Portland, Oregon
We hiked Ape Canyon Trailhead which takes you to Loowit. This hike is not overly scenic as others we have done in my opinion until you get to 5-6 miles where you have a view of 3 mountains. You are actually on Mt.St Helens which is amazing. Total distance round trip that we did was 13 miles. So make sure you bring plenty of snacks. I am a runner - I run about 15-20miles a week so I gauge a hike by how my legs feel when I'm done. So for this hike my legs were sore once it was complete. I think mainly because you are doing a bit of climbing and we were going at a fast pace. Anyway we would go back. Don't forget you need a pass to come here. I am attaching a link with additional details on this hike:
http://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Special:Ask?q=[[Category%3AModerate%20Hikes]][[Distance%3A%3A%3E10%20miles]][[Category%3AViewpoint%20Hikes]]&po=Difficulty%0D%0ADistance%0D%0AElevation%20gain&sort=&order=ASC&limit=50&usersearch=yes
9. The Gardens at Stillmeadows
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3 reviews
Reviewed By teri1352 - Portland, Oregon
Someone put alot of work into this garden. The whimsy trail is a trail through the woods with all sorts of toys along the way....most likely family toys or garage sale toys that are whimsically added along the walk. It is a cute idea but we were glad it was free or rather there was a donation box to which we contributed as someone goes to alot of work to keep this going. The plants are numerous and we wondered where all of them that are in pots came from and decided they must be left overs from other nurseries? the ones that are planted are pretty and nice to look at. The rabbits are out of control though and it appears as though they are unchecked as far as babies go and they did not look like they had enough food for the number that were housed in a rather small hutch for so many rabbits. I wanted to stay and feed the cute little critters. They need to be either let loose or given to children as pets. Don't go out of your way to see this but if you are in the area, certainly it is interesting if you have nothing else to do.
10. Mount St Helens Creation Center
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