Toutle River Valley
[Weather]    [MM5]

NEW: Click here to read a discussion of top landing at Twin Bowls.

UPDATED and EDITED - MAY 2006
(by Jim Baldo)
The tree growth in front of the Twin Bowls launch has made the launch hazardous in all but the best conditions. A north wind results in a rotor just in front of launch before the tree line. If you do fly this site, it is recommended that you only launch in good NW to W cycles. (As a reference, looking straight down the slope is true NW.) Do not launch from the slope. Set up on the West Side of the flat above the slope and start your run back from the edge stabilizing your wing before reaching the slope. Fly actively immediately on launching. Do not distract yourself with settling in your harness until passing the tree line.

Since 2003, the annual fly-in is no longer held due to the hazards of launch and the landowner's refusal to grant us an access permit.

All vehicular access to Elk Rock is now gated. Most upper launches are overgrown. Launching from the upper log deck is still possible but difficult and rarely done. Launching from the Elk Rock berm just off highway 504 is still possible. Please refer to notes below.

Never, never, never attempt landing at the Weyerhaeuser learning center SE of Twin Bowls launch. Looks are deceiving. There is a severe rotor off the cliff that has nailed ALL pilots that have tried. PLEASE TAKE HEED!
The North Fork of the Toutle River flows west from Mount St. Helens through a broad valley accessible by a new highway. The valley sides are steep and relatively unforested, due to the 1980 volcano blast that cleared off many of the trees, and the valley floor is flat from mud and ash deposits. The area was flown first flown by hang gliders in 1992 and by paragliders in 1993. It has proven to be good for both ridge and thermal soaring. The best forecast is for light winds aloft and sun in the Cascades.

Site Protocol:
The Toutle River valley is a patchwork of public and private ownership, and the east end of the valley is a popular tourist destination because of the new Mount St. Helens National Monument visitor center there. Foot launched pilots are asked to observe the following restrictions in order to maintain good relations with the landowners and to minimize our impact on the area.

1. No launching or landing inside the monument. The monument begins on the valley floor below Elk Rock and continues up into the volcano crater. If you don't know where the monument boundary is, get a map and figure it out before you fly.

2. Vehicular access to the valley floor is gated and locked. The gravel roads from the highway down to the valley floor were closed in 1994 because too many people were driving illegally on the valley floor. From 1995 to 2003 paraglider pilots have had vehicle access to the bottom of Twin Bowls for pilot retrieval one weekend each summer during our annual fly-in. This fly-in is no longer held.

3. No illegal parking along the main highway. In other words, if you want to park along the main highway outside of one of the official parking lots, be sure to pull completely off the highway so your vehicle is not a traffic hazard. Tickets have been issued to illegally parked vehicles.

4. Do not harass the wildlife. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, which owns most of the valley floor west of the monument, wants to protect the elk, deer, birds, and other animals that call the valley their home. We can help them achieve their goal by trying not to disturb the wildlife we see in the valley. We currently have a very good relationship with the WA dept. of Fish and Wildlife.

Directions to Sites: There are two principal launch sites in the Toutle River valley: Twin Bowls and Elk Rock. To get to these sites, take I5 to Washington exit 49, then drive east on Highway 504.

Twin Bowls is near mile marker 32 on Highway 504. To get to launch, drive 0.2 miles past the 32 mile marker on Highway 504 and park in the small pullout on the right side of the road. Walk southwest over the small hill to the flat berm on the other side at 2,400' MSL. The primary launch is the west side of the berm, although the southeast side can also be used. The usual flight path is southwest along the ridge to the southern-most point, which can often be ridge soared in light wind conditions. Twin Bowls is a good thermal soaring site, with thermals forming in the bowl west of launch and drifting back over the launch berm. The primary LZ (LZ1 in photo above) is the east-west-running dirt road on the valley floor at 1,250' MSL. Don't land off the road because the ground is uneven. It is a 20-30 minute hike from the LZ back up to the highway. To leave cars at the top of the trail up from the LZ, park completely off the highway on the gravel shoulder east of Hoffstadt Bridge.

Elk Rock (topozone.com map link) is near mile marker 36 on Highway 504. All vehicular access to the top is now gated and locked. If hiking up, launching from the west-southwest facing log deck at 4100' MSL is still possible but difficult. Launching from the berm on the right side of highway 504 just below elk rock just past mile marker 36 at 3600' MSL is also possible. We have been asked by law enforcement officials not to launch from this berm on days with high vehicle traffic on the main highway (i.e. weekends in the summer) because it tends to draw spectators whose cars create a traffic hazard. Elk Rock is a good ridge soaring site and it sometimes produces evening glass-offs.

REMINDER: If you have to land on the valley floor, do not land east or south of Elk Rock -- foot-launched flight is not allowed inside the monument boundary; plan on a 1.5 hour hike back up to the road.
Notable paraglider flights: The 3 mile flight from Twin Bowls to Elk Rock has been done many times by paragliders in thermal conditions. The best altitude gain reported on a paraglider was 5600' MSL above launch and the longest flight was 4.25 hours, both from Twin Bowls.

Local Contacts:
Jim Baldo (site liaison)
Reed Gleason
Pete Reagan
Kelly Kellar
Steve Roti
Submitted by: Steve Roti
Last Revision Date: 5/06/2006

Photo of helicopter at Twin Bowls