Trail is a gradual easy incline with some switchbacks starting around mile 2. Most of the first 3 or so miles are shaded in the woods with a smooth soft dirt covered trail covered with fir needles. Really easy on the feet. There are some sections that are rockier or with roots, but overall good. There are great viewpoints on the way up of Mt Adams, Rainier, and Hood. Also great views of the giant lahar. At mile 3.2 you start breaking out of the trees into open trail that is more rocky with some looser rock areas. There is a massive area to explore and between miles 4.5-5, other trail options to split off to.

There is a very sketchy section of trail close to Loowit. On a Friday there were around 10 total bikes on the trail, but they were great at shouting out when they were headed down. With the last couple miles in the dry heat, take plenty of water.

Parking was good and the road was nicely paved to the trail, just watch for unexpected dips in the road.

This was an awesome and pretty easy hike where you don’t have to look at your feet at all until further in. It’s also a gradual incline. If it’s hard at all it would maybe be due to the length? Beautiful views and so worth it!

Naturally, anytime I do some long hike for a good view of Mt. St. Helens, she's hiding behind her cloud veil.

Still some good views on this trail. Pictures are less impressive because it's the gargantuan scale of everything that is really mindblowing, especially once you get up to the Loowit trail area.

Most of this is just a long forest hike, with occasional viewpoints. It's well shaded, but no water points, so carry plenty up. nice flowers at the top and lots of ripe berries too. The trail is fairly smooth with dirt/fir needles, and is not overly rocky until you get close to Loowit.

Busy trail, lots of bikes. TH full by 9am, so parked at Lava Canyon TH. bathrooms there not bad but may be out of TP.

Maybe avoid Mt st Helens next weekend Aug2/3, the Volcanic 25/50k is that weekend, so it will be busy.

Driving:
made it in a Hyundai Elantra. drive slow and careful. Theres a couple big bumps where the road is carved away, another dip/bump in pavement, and a huge berm. Stick to the side you came up on for these if you have a tiny car (uphill/right lane followed by downhill/left lane), the berm and dips are gentler on that side. I made the mistake of staying in my lane on the way down for the last bit of excavated road and scraped a tiny bit. Driving back in late afternoon with sun in your eyes and dappled roadway made it hard to see that this side had way deeper tire ruts than the uphill lane.

I did a trail run on 7/12/25 on the Ape Canyon trail, turning around at the canyon just short of the junction with the Loowit Trail. This trail is in great shape and is a smooth cruise on foot. Some wildflowers are blooming along the trail: I spotted Indian paintbrush, lupines and Oregon Lilies. When I was moving I didn’t notice any insects but if I stopped for long enough there were these annoying flies that appeared.

Bikers - you probably need a true mountain bike for some stretches with roots and rocks. (Spouse tried to ride this on a gravel bike and had to do some hike-a-bike).

Dry trail and no water, no snow remains. Fairly shaded for the most part until you are in the final mile to the actual Ape Canyon overlook. 

There is a sketchy washout on the trail as you head towards the junction with the Loowit Trail- be aware. I’m guessing as well that the large washout just past that junction I experienced in late 2024 is still there too (if so it’s unmistakable so keep an eye out if you’re biking!)

On July 5th we hiked from the Ape Canyon Trailhead to Loowit falls and back. We have not visited the falls since we did a backpacking trip to the Plains of Abraham back in August 2018 and it felt great to be back.  The hike to the falls is more complicated now, especially if you are coming from the south, due to a slide and road closure on road 25 near Elk Pass and mid-week work on the Spirit Lake Infrastructure project. If you plan on making this trip from the Windy Ridge Interpretive Site please check to see if everything is open to avoid a long drive and disappointment.

We arrived at the Ape Canyon trailhead about 5am after an easy drive in.  Our route via Cougar, WA is fully paved except for a short rocky “hump” ¾ mile after Marble Mountain Snow Park where a slide was cleared last year. Most vehicles should be able to make it if driven slowly. There is also a very deep and unavoidable ditch right at Marble Mountain that you need to go very slow through. There was one vehicle in the small Ape Canyon lot with about five others lining the roadway nearby. Presumably we were the first to arrive this morning as we did not see anyone on the trail.  The air was clear, calm and cool and we hit the trail at about 5:10am.  

Our out-and-back route to the falls used the Ape Canyon Trail #234, Loowit Trail #216 and Loowit Falls Trail #216.  The Ape Canyon trail is heavily used by mountain bikers so it is well maintained and never too steep.  There were some areas along the trail that need brushing but no trees down or hanging over the trail.  The only part in need of repair is at the top just before intersecting with the Loowit Trail. Here the trail crosses above and looks down into the slot of Ape Canyon.  It is badly eroded and soon will need to be rerouted to avoid fully collapsing. Take care while crossing this area.

Now on the Loowit trail, we arrived at the camping area at Pumice Butte around 7am.  This is a popular area to camp and with the holiday weekend we knew it would be busy. Also before we even reached the Loowit, there were 4 tents visible from the Ape Canyon trail which was a strong indication there would be a ton of tents. Before we arrived we made our guesses as to how many tents there would be. Backpackers were up and preparing for the day’s adventures. We saw a group of 7 backpackers hiking away as we approached.  We caught up with them before Windy Pass where they were breaking and confirmed they'd camped near Pumice Butte (with 6 tents).  We saw 9 tents  + their 6 = 15. There were a few other tents scattered about along the Loowit, the last two were just before the climb up Windy Pass.

There was no snow along the entire route, NO BUGS!!!!,  and the wildflowers were spectacular.  Prairie Lupine, Indian Paintbrush and other species are really popping right now. We headed up Windy Pass where we could see a herd of just over 50 mountain goats above the pass.  The pass on both sides is rocky, steep, eroded and requires careful navigation to ensure you are on the correct (upper) trail. A clear stream just before the south side of the pass is flowing if water is needed.   

The rest of the route along the Loowit to Loowit Falls was the familiar Mt. St. Helens blast-zone kind of walking.  Open dusty pumice track with the occasional eroded stream bed to cross.  The large spring feeding into Spirit Lake is brushy and  flowing hard as always and is decorated with Monkey Flower.  Its a nice cool oasis for a break to filter water, (there is a stream just before the spring that was running fine as well,  so you have options).

Soon we arrived at Loowit Falls to share the stellar view with a few other hikers and a couple of goats.  One goat even descended down into the creek below the falls, to lick minerals from the rocks. The other just sat higher up giving us a disapproving side-eye.  

After a long, second lunch break we returned the way we came, taking plenty of breaks, taking pictures and just enjoying the beautiful day. We topped off our water at the stream on the South side of Windy Pass, and soaked our feet.

We had just commented about not seeing any mountain bikers yet when we saw our first pair on the plains around 2pm. After that we ran into a few more, then a larger group then a trickle of a couple on the Ape Canyon trail before we had to ourselves the rest of the way back to the TH.

We returned to the overflowing parking lot at 4:10pm, footsore, tired and feeling blessed to have Loowitlatkla in our backyard. 

Mileage:  19.85

EG: 4,160

As per Mount St. Helens Institute Trail Stewards: Expect snow on Ape Canyon, patchy for the first mile or so, and then consistent. Snow is deeper around 3,800 feet, and icy near the Loowit Junction. Microspikes are recommended. There is one tree down on the trail.