Lewis County Launches ‘Volcano Country’ Campaign, Remembers Mount St. Helens Exists
ONALASKA, WA — Lewis County tourism officials will unveil a new 2027 marketing campaign, “Discover Volcano Country,” during the Discover Lewis County Tourism Summit and Leadership Awards on Sept. 18 in Onalaska.
The campaign is expected to focus heavily on the county’s proximity to Mount St. Helens, along with outdoor recreation, scenic destinations and other attractions aimed at drawing more visitors into Southwest Washington.
The strategy represents a renewed effort to convince travelers that Lewis County is more than the 45-minute stretch of Interstate 5 between Olympia and wherever they were actually planning to go.
Officials hope the “Volcano Country” branding will capitalize on one of the most recognizable landmarks in the Pacific Northwest, a mountain that has been sitting nearby for several thousand years waiting for the county tourism department to fully leverage its brand potential.
The campaign could also help address a long-standing regional marketing problem in which millions of Washington residents can correctly identify Mount St. Helens but become visibly confused when asked which county is near it.
Lewis County has plenty to offer visitors, including hiking, fishing, camping, lakes, rivers, forests and small towns that Seattle residents occasionally discover while desperately searching for a bathroom.
Tourism officials are expected to emphasize those attractions while carefully avoiding the phrase “Come for the volcano, stay because Highway 12 has construction.”
The new campaign follows years of local tourism promotion built around the assumption that a brown recreation sign placed beside the freeway constitutes a comprehensive marketing strategy.
Under the new plan, officials will instead actively remind people that Mount St. Helens is nearby, presumably through websites, advertisements and increasingly desperate social media posts aimed at people who believe Washington ends somewhere south of Tumwater.
Local leaders remain optimistic that “Discover Volcano Country” could bring more tourism dollars into the region.
Mount St. Helens, meanwhile, has declined to participate in the Sept. 18 summit, citing a longstanding policy of only making major public appearances every few centuries.
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