Mileage: 3+ miles RT
Elevation Gain/Highest: 900ft/5100ft
Map: Green Trails Mount Shuksan No. 14
Favorite Eats After Hike: North Fork Brewery, Chair 9, Boundary Bay, Fiamma Burger, La Fiamma Wood Fire Pizza, or just Pack A Cooler. You can learn more about these places in my Must Hike Must Eat Eating Out Guide.
Find out current conditions and as always, practice Leave No Trace. Pretty Please.
Snowshoe Details:
An Artist Point snowshoe is an iconic trek with views of Mount Baker, Shuksan. Baker and the North Cascades. The route starts from the Heather Meadows parking lot at the Mount Baker Ski Area, loosely following the tail end of SR 542 that is closed for winter and makes for a 3 mile romp in the snow.
Editor’s note: the snowshoe route to Artist Ridge and Point runs through avalanche terrain. Please check conditions at NWAC before you go.
My Snowshoes:
9/11/2021
Not a snowshoe, but proof that Artist Point is not my best friend. I was staying in Glacier for the weekend and as per the norm for me, it was socked in and wet. I decided to drive up Saturday morning before the race as it was partly sunny in town to scout the road and actually see Artist Point and Heather Meadows for the very first time sans snow.
It was no surprise that the sun disappeared and it was a sea of fog at the top when I arrived but that didn’t seem to deter anyone as the parking lot was full. I was lucky enough to grab a spot as someone pulled out though.
I did enjoy hiking the paved Artist Point Ridge Trail to Huntoon and recognizing features normally covered in snow. It was fun to see the tarns and actual trail. Although rather ADA at first, those steps later on are not for the knees.
Despite the crowds, Huntoon was relatively quiet and making the loop on the mountain side was solitude (it could have been the rocky, trenched, wet, vegetation encroached trail) and some berries were to be had. Lots of social trails but plenty of rock to step on to avoid the heather and everything kind of leads to the same place. It would seem the established trail is the gravel lined one, dirt is social trails?
Still no views back at the parking lot and cars were circling as I left. I can’t complain, though. Tomorrow I would return on two wheels and it would be pouring rain the whole way.
4/6/2021, my GAIA
You can read more about this trip on Artist Ridge and Huntoon Point: A Fourth Time’s A Charm.
Excited for the possibility of an Artist Point snowshoe with a view, I camped out in my car in the parking lot the night before (discounted permit after April 1st) and rose with the sun at 6am to be first and alone as I made my way up and into the “backcountry” of the Mount Baker Wilderness area.
Shuksan, Panaroma Dome, Table Mountain, and Mount Herman began to turn a rosy pink with the sunrise as I took the somewhat steep incline to keep just outside the temporary fencing that marks the ski boundary and groomed trail. The snow was icy solid and there were plenty of tracks to follow past where the Chain Lakes and Lake Ann trailheads lay buried under the thick blanket of snow and up as I passed the “entering the backcountry” sign at .75 miles to eventually level out below the ridge.
Where the road turns south at .9 miles, I opted to head straight up to the ridge first along the path of the Wild Goose Trail to the area of the Artist Point trailhead. This took a few zigzags an I needed to add my snowshoes for traction as the snow was almost too firm for kicking steps.
Although it was April, the winter conditions meant using GPS and guessing where the official viewpoint might be once up on the ridge. Not that there was a shortage of views as the sun gently rose over Shuksan and the delicate snow crystals danced with light around me.
The snow was still solid in the early morning hours, even when off the beaten track as I explored several of the highpoints in the Artist Point area at 1.4 miles and 5100ft of elevation. I also finished the ridge by taking a trip up to Huntoon Point.
Instead of going all the way back to where I had sharply ascended Kulshan Ridge, for my return trip I dropped down just a bit southeast of the Artist Point viewpoint to intersect and cross the hairpin turn of the road. The route then continued back on the level road below the ridge with slides creating a steep angle to traverse on (this is a risky area during higher avalanche conditions).
I eventually met up with where I had cut up for the ridge and I turned down towards the parking lot. When I reached the front country boundary again, I cut back down towards the Austin Pass picnic area and strolled back to the parking lot closer to Bagley Lakes for a 4 mile and 3.3 hour trip. The parking lot was just beginning to gather skiers and snowshoers for the day.
4/23/2017
I took a trip to Huntoon Point which is just up the ridge from Artist Point as part of my Mountaineers scrambling course. You can read about it here!
2/14/2016
This was my second attempt at an Artist Point snowshoe and the second time without the iconic views. It was a wonderful day anyway! We were headed up at 9:30am, following the groomed trail until we reached the “entering backcountry” sign. We knew it was a high avalanche warning day so we would only go as far as we felt comfortable.
From here we took long sweeping switchbacks up to where it first levels out, noticing several other groups including some Boy Scouts earning a badge with some snow camping. The powder was deep but there was a trail to follow up to here.
From this point we took turns postholing on the snow covered road as the weekend had brought a few more feet of snow and we were first up. With several stops to deliberate the turns in the road, we eventually made it up to the parking lot at Artist Point. It was here we decided to stop for lunch instead of braving a sketchy ridge walk to Huntoon Point although several other people not with us continued on in various directions.
It was still early, so we rambled our way down, leaving the groomed area sooner and walking closer to the valley with views of the river. Back to the car by 12:30, we all agreed even without the blue skies it was a fun outing.
12/22/2013
I first visited Mount Baker and the Artist Point area in 2013 with my family. Some of us went skiing and my mom, sister and I tried our hand at snowshoeing from the Heather Meadows parking lot. I don’t think we ever crossed into the backcountry area, mostly just meandering around the soft slopes near the Austin Pass picnic area.
Directions: Drive SR 542 (Mount Baker Highway) to the end of the road (55 miles and the Mt.Baker Ski Resort). Pulling into the resort area, take the first right hand turn and drive around to the large parking lot behind the resort area. You will see a set of bathrooms at the far end. The trail begins to the left, just to the outside of the temporary fencing that runs along the groomed nordic trail that rests on a snow covered SR 542.
For more snowshoes in the Pacific Northwest, click HERE.
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