At dedication ceremonies on May 18, 1983, Max Peterson, head of the USFS, said, "we can take pride in having preserved the unique episode of natural history for future generations."

Since then, many trails, viewpoints, information stations, campgrounds, and picnic areas have been established to accommodate the increasing number of visitors each year.

[6] The 16,000 square feet (1,500 m2) space underwent its first upgrade in 2024, which included artworks, displays, and exhibits expanding on the history and connection of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to the mountain and surrounding lands.

Open daily mid-May through October, exhibits focus on the geologic history of the volcano, eyewitness accounts of the explosion, and the science of monitoring volcanic activity.

On May 14, 2023, access to the observatory was barred due to the 2023 South Coldwater Slide, a landslide that destroyed a bridge on Washington State Route 504.

[9] In early 2024, Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) announced that because of cost and a limited construction schedule for repairs due to a combination of weather, elevation, and issues with the terrain, the highway and access to the observatory would be closed until 2026.

[16] A proposed expansion of the SLC would include space for an amphitheater, overnight camping, an outdoor school, improved hiking trails, and timber lodges.

[18][19] After the South Coldwater Slide in 2023, the center was outfitted with exhibits and other facilities as a temporary alternative to the Johnston Ridge Observatory while cleanup and repairs were underway.

Beginning in summer 1983, visitors have been able to drive to Windy Ridge, on U.S. Forest Service Road 99, only 4 miles (6.4 km) northeast of the crater.

From this vantage point overlooking Spirit Lake, people see not only the evidence of a volcano's destruction, but also the remarkable, gradual (but faster than originally predicted) recovery of the land as revegetation proceeds and wildlife returns.

[23] Lava tubes are an unusual formation in this region, as volcanoes of the Cascade Range are mostly stratovolcanos and do not typically erupt with pahoehoe (fluid basalt).

A few days later, Johnson brought a group of other people back to the cave, and an individual named Harry Reese was lowered to the floor and became the first known person to explore the interior.

The cave system takes its moniker from a local Boy Scout troop, named the Mount St. Helens Apes, who undertook subsequent explorations of the tube after its discovery.