The new center will have spectacular views of the Toutle River Valley and Mount St. Helens lava dome. Look for deer and elk from SR 504 and other roads. Red-tailed hawks and other raptors can be seen in the rocks overlooking the highway and North Fork Toutle. Bald eagles winter along the lower Toutle River. The Toutle elk herd is often visible year-round with binoculars.
Wildflowers are plentiful in the spring.
Castle Rock 10. These woodlands and grasslands of Julie Butler Hansen NWR are intensively managed to protect an endangered subspecies, the Columbian white-tailed deer, which once roamed widely in the lower Columbia River drainage. Roosevelt elk from the surrounding Willapa Hills also forage here. Grasslands and shorelines on the refuge attract tundra swans, Canada geese, and other waterfowl and shorebirds. Watch for resident bald eagles, migratory warblers, and other songbirds.