Lower Falls Viewpoint
(Lewis River)
Accessibility in National
Forest areas is different than in the city.
Steep topography, uneven terrain, and lack of electricity and water are just a few of the challenges. Few areas have lighting after dark. Weather can make accessibility more difficult; icy conditions in the winter and trail erosion are some examples. Each visitor has different abilities and expectations. We encourage you to give us a call before your visit for additional information and to check current conditions.
The Gifford Pinchot National Forest and Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument welcomes visitors of all abilities. We offer this guide for visitors with special accessibility needs. We hope you will find it useful in planning both daytime excursions and overnight camping trips.
The Forest’s long-term
accessibility goal is to offer barrier free recreation opportunities
at most, if not all recreation areas and sites.
Accessible
Sites
Click
here to see a downloadable and printable map of accessible sites
in the Forest. The sites include campgrounds, interpretive
sites, trails and other locations which have accessible facilities.
When viewing the map, you can click on most of the sites shown and
this will take you to a web page with information about the site.
Special note for 2007 - the map does not show currently blocked
or washed out roads. For road conditions and a map, check the Current
Conditions page.
Campgrounds
Many Forest
and Monument campgrounds have accessible features.
These features include specially designed camp sites, toilet facilities,
water, and picnic areas. For example, the Iron
Creek Campground in the Cowlitz Valley Ranger District has a
nearby creek-side accessible trail.
Hunting
The program that set aside
a few specific roads exclusively for disabled hunters on the Gifford
Pinchot National Forest is discontinued starting with the
2007 hunting season. The Forest continues to be open to
all hunters and legal hunting modes, and much of the Forest is accessible
on the existing open road system. Follow this link to an online
map of roads that have an open character and are in known elk
areas.
Other opportunities remain available on Washington State lands.
For additional information please contact
the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The
Interagency Access Pass
The Interagency
Access Pass entitles the holder to a 50% discount
on some expanded amenity fees like campgrounds (does not include
hookups for water/sewer/electricity), highly developed boat launches
and swimming sites and for specialized interpretive services.
There is no charge for
the Interagency Access Pass, but you must be medically designated
as either disabled or blind to receive one. The passports are not
available by mail or phone, but can be obtained in person at any
Forest Service office.
Interpretive Sites
Enjoy the Johnston
Ridge Observatory. This visitor center has accessible interpretive
programs. At Johnston Ridge, in the heart of the Mount St. Helens
Blast Zone take a one-half mile walk on the Eruption Trail and learn
how the eruption shaped the surrounding landscape. Visitors can
expect to see views of the lava dome, crater, pumice plain, and
the landslide deposit.
Trails
You can travel more than
1,200 miles
of trails of varying difficulty. 13 trails are accessible,
with 4 of the trails over 1 mile in length. Approximately
11 miles of trails are constructed to barrier-free standards with
several levels of difficulty. For example, The Trail
of Two Forests is a boardwalk trail located through
a 1900-year-old lava flow. The scenic loop provides access to many
examples of vertical tree molds and also provides an opportunity
to explore a horizontal mold formed when lava covered a fallen tree.
The trail list
shows the trails that are accessible. The grade shown is the maximum
grade, often for only a short section.
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