WSDOT crews begin to clear road to Mount Baker Highway’s popular Artist Point
Snow-removal and other seasonal work to open the road to Artist Point started Wednesday, giving hope for an early hiking season in the Mount Baker high country, the Washington State Department of Transportation announced in a news release.
No target date was given for clearing the final 2.7 miles of the Mount Baker Highway, a steep and winding section of the road from Heather Meadows to a parking lot at 5,140 feet. It closes every year after the fist heavy snowstorm in fall or winter and opens in spring or summer after snow is cleared and seasonal road damage is repaired.
About 20 feet of snow covered the road this spring, WSDOT said. Seasonal snowfall was 502 inches, the lowest total since the winter of 2014-2015, according to Mt. Baker Ski Area.
Artist Point, at the end of the Mount Baker Highway, is a summer tourist destination and the starting point for several popular hikes in the North Cascades.
It offers a breathtaking view that includes Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan and other Cascades peaks in Whatcom County.
Some 650 cars and trucks a day make the trip in summer, WSDOT said.
