Ape Cave is a popular family destination near Mount St. Helens. It's the longest known lava tube in North America, with two possible routes. An upper cave is more advanced than the lower cave, which is kid-friendly. The cave was closed in 2020 and finally reopened on May 18, 2021—the 41st anniversary of Mount St. Helens’ 1980 eruption.

“Ape Cave was formed by an eruption of Mount St. Helens that happened about 2000 years ago,” said Trevor Ness, the lead interpretive park ranger for the south side of Mount St. Helens.
“Mount St. Helens was going through a phase where it was behaving a lot more like Hawaiian volcano, rather than its 1980 explosive eruption kind of behavior.”

Something new for this year is a reservation system to keep crowds down and for environmental effects. You’ll need to get a ticket online before your visit. Tickets are limited and only one is needed per vehicle.

Read more about the changes here:
https://www.kgw.com/article/sports/ou...

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