State Route 504 is a state highway in Cowlitz and Skamania counties, in the U.S. state ofWashington. It extends 51.76 miles (83.30 km) from an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5), SR 411 and Interstate 5 Business (I-5 Bus) in the city of Castle Rock, east to end at the Johnston Ridge Observatory.
The route serves as a connector from Castle Rock to Mount St. Helens NVM.
The highway formerly was Secondary State Highway 1R (SSH 1R) from 1937 until 1964. SSH 1R ran from Castle Rock to the border of the Columbia National Forest (now known as the Gifford Pinchot National Forest) from 1937 until 1961. In 1961, the Washington State Legislature extended SSH 1R east to Spirit Lake. In 1964, SSH 1R became SR 504. When Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980, SR 504 was closed and was heavily damaged from SR 505 to Spirit Lake. The highway was rebuilt and partially opened in 1991 on a higher and safer route to Coldwater Ridge. The new highway was completed when the road to the Johnston Ridge Observatory was opened in 1994.
SR 504 also has a spur route, named SR 504 Spur, that runs along the former route of SR 504 in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The route extends 0.87 miles (1.40 km) along the former route of SR 504, before the Mount St. Helens eruption. The highway closes every winter because of snow and dangerous cliffs.
SR 504 runs 51.76 miles (83.30 km) from an interchange with Interstate 5 (I-5), SR 411 and Interstate 5 Business (I-5 Bus) in the city of Castle Rock, east to end at the Johnston Ridge Observatory. The route serves as a connector from Castle Rock to Mount St. Helens NVM. WSDOT has found that more than 14,000 motorists utilize the road daily after the interchange with I-5 based on average annual daily traffic (AADT) data.
Spirit Lake Memorial Highway takes travelers through land shattered by Mount St. Helens’ eruption in 1980. Because the valley floor is now so unstable, the highway is cut into the tops of the hillside and offers sweeping views of the surrounding area. The highway concludes after 54 miles at Mount St. Helens National Monument with the dramatic spectacle of Mount St. Helens gaping crater.
Early in the century Spirit Lake Memorial Highway began as an uneven wagon track. In the 1930s the road was paved and ended at the pristine, serene Spirit Lake, the highway’s namesake. The life-changing eruption of Mount St. Helens on May 18, 1980 annihilated the upper half of the road and mudflows devastated miles of the lower portion. The highway was rebuilt and reopened in 1992. Despite the highway’s name, the road now ends high on Johnston Ridge before the visitor has a chance to get a good look at Spirit Lake, but allowing a striking view of the volcano itself.
This scenic byway is truly a memorial to its surroundings. Visitors will not lack for sights and activities to keep them busy at the five visitor centers that line the highway. Each center covers different aspects of Mount St. Helens eruption, from the events that led up to the blast to the recovery of trees and animals. The spectacular, sometimes stricken landscape surrounding the highway reminds visitors of the raw energy the earth can unleash.
Cormac McCarthy's apocalyptic 2006 novel, "The Road," begins with a father and his young son waking in the woods to "nights dark beyond darkness and the days more gray each one than what had gone before."
In the long-delayed movie version, the man is played by Viggo Mortensen, the boy by Kodi Smit-McPhee. The bleaker locations were played by Mount St. Helens, the Oregon coast and the woods of Pennsylvania.
