Silver Lake (SW) in Washington

Trip Overview

Convenient to the Puget Sound-Eugene axis, Silver Lake is sited in the Mt. St. Helens National Volcanic Monument. In fact, the main MSH visitor center is on the lake, as well as a gorgeous state park, Seaquest.

We've only spent 1/2 day on the lake, but intend to go back. The eastern third is a potpourri of islets, lily marshes, channels, peninsulas, etc, just right for poking around. The other two thirds look interesting too, but we didn't have time to explore.

It's a major fishing lake, so there are some powerboats, but we saw no skiiers nor jetskis. Beautiful NW setting-mountains, trees, etc. Loaded with blue herons - there must be a rookery nearby. Good for a family group with nonpaddlers, since there are a lot of things for the landbound to do.

Accommodations:

Several ramps at resorts and one state launch site, or even from one point off the highway.

Fees:

Using the state launching ramp requires a permit ($12-13 for the season, usable at all state sites) available anywhere that sells fishing licenses.

Directions:

I-5 from N or S to Castle Rock, east about 4 miles on the Mt. St. Helens Hwy.

Resources:

Can't find anything in print, but there's a decent map on maptech.com