WA's Mount Baker Highway to Artist Point reopens to traffic

Mount Baker Highway, known as Highway 542 and the road to Artist Point northeast of Bellingham, is now fully open.

The nearly 3-mile stretch of highway, which boasts panoramic views of Mount Shuksan and Mount Baker and a network of trails, usually closes between October and June while it's buried in snow.

It closed on Oct. 15 last year.

Announcing the reopening on social media, the Washington State Department of Transportation told visitors they should plan ahead and expect to see crews doing maintenance work along the highway throughout the season.

Maintenance crews had plowed through 20 feet of snow to clear the 2.7-mile stretch of highway in preparation for its opening, WSDOT said. The crews then cleared debris, hung signs and striped the road.

That's some good news for hikers just as summer temperatures return after a brief bit of rain.

Just a little further south in the mountain range, the North Cascades Highway is also fully reopening June 19, after crews wrap up repairs following a December washout and March rockslide.

Drivers can see road conditions and closures using the WSDOT mobile app, the mountain passes page, the live travel map, or by subscribing to email alerts and updates.

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