Road to Artist Point closes, and its opening next spring is uncertain
Snowfall has covered the road to Artist Point, closing the final 2.7 miles of the Mount Baker Highway for the winter season.
And its opening next spring could be delayed as it was in 2020 and 2021, the Washington State Department of Transportation said at its website.
Gates are closed as they are every autumn near Heather Meadows, but snow-sports enthusiasts can use the slopes for skiing, sledding, snowshoeing and snowboarding.
Snow began falling around 5,000 feet earlier this week and snow is in the forecast over the next several days at elevations as low as 3,000 to 4,000 feet.
“Snowing at the higher elevations this morning. Another beautiful day in the PNW,” the Mt. Baker Ski Area said at its Facebook page on Wednesday, Oct. 6.
A photo showed a dusting of snow that covered the road near Picture Lake.
Artist Point, at an altitude of some 5,000 feet, offers a 360-degree view that includes Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan and the high Cascades peaks. It’s also the starting point for several summer hiking trails and a popular tourist destination.
Mount Baker Highway is closed annually after the first significant snowfall in autumn.
Clearing efforts — which require skip loaders and dump trucks — usually finish in June or July.
It opened Aug. 13, 2020, because clearing was delayed by the pandemic and it closed Oct. 12, 2020, when a rock wall crumbled and damaged the road above Heather Meadows.
Temporary repairs to the road allowed the gate to open Aug. 17 this year and snow melted on its own after a pair off record-breaking heatwaves.
But more repairs could be needed in spring 2022, WSDOT said.
“Once snow stops falling in spring of 2022, WSDOT crews will evaluate structural integrity of the highway retaining wall, which is located above Heather Meadows Visitor Center at milepost 55.6. Hillside erosion caused a portion of the wall and roadway to crumble in October of 2020. Contractor crews completed work this summer to temporarily stabilize the slope and wall until funding becomes available for permanent repairs,” WSDOT said.
