Most people see Mt. St. Helens from the west. That is because the easiest access to the mountain is from Interstate 5 and then 51 miles along Highway 504, also known as Spirit Lake Memorial Highway. Since the eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980 the area has started to recover, but you can still see areas of devastation and desolation, especially near the peak. At end of the road is the Johnston Ridge Observatory named after the researcher who was manning a research site on that site when Mt. St. Helens erupted. His call, "Vancouver, Vancouver, this is it!" alerted the team that their forecasted eminent eruption had started. He died at his post. The center is full of historical information, interpretive programs and offers a great up close view of the dome inside the crater. Inside the Observatory is a theater where an awesome video is shown that makes you feel like you went through the eruption at ground zero.
There are three roads that you can take to photograph this awesome mountain. The one on the east uses Forest Roads 99 and 25 to get you to the Windy Ridge Road. That route is usually blocked in the winter. The western entrance, described above, may also be closed at the upper levels by snow in winter but it is generally open longer and is more accessible. The third road is accessible close to Cougar and it is closed almost all winter. We found that cell phone service was non-existent on all of them. There are no stores, restaurants or gas stations along the routes. The roads are not connected and require significant travel between the three so if yu plan on visiting all three plan on taking three full days. It will be worth it.