The forests on this southern side of Mt. St. Helens weren’t hurt by the 1980 eruption, but if you stroll through the woods to June Lake’s 40-foot waterfall you’ll see other proof that you’re on a volcano. A volcanic mudflow created the lake itself about a century ago, and the waterfall drops off the edge of an ancient lava field. If you continue up to Chocolate Falls, you’ll scramble across fresh-looking lava to a stripped-out gorge where an ash-choked waterfall sometimes runs as dark as chocolate milk.

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This chapter taken from the book 100 Hikes: Northwest Oregon