Mount Baker

First time snowshoeing. Views were incredible. Not so much a trail as several different boot paths in the snow to follow to the ridgeline. Too many people attempting to hike it without snowshoes or skis led to plenty of post holes to have to walk around. Proves it can be done without snowshoes at this point, but at what cost?

We started around 11.30 from the parking lot. It was a bright sunny day. We first went to Artist point and the went up to Huntoon point and had lunch. Perfect 360 view from Huntoon point - Mt Baker and northern cascades. It was perfect day for snowshoeing.

Do you really need snow shoes to complete this hike right now or will be snow boots enough?

Amazing snowshoe hike. Views at Artist Point are incredible. Started the hike at 4:15 am and got to the top at Huntoon Point just before 6 am for sunrise.

Outstanding snowshoe hike to the top!

One of the most prestine views of Mt. Baker and Mt. Shuksan on either sides.

Boundary signs up for avalanche risk so you can't go to far on this trail now. We knew that going up but still were able to hike part of the trail and play around in the snow a bit. Looking forward to safely adventuring here again in the future!

Great, lots of people so you need to get there early. We got there at 8:30 and was getting pack. A lot of first timers and slow people, gets crowded on the hills since there is not a path you have to move to the side of the way. Great views! Was nice and sunny but cold.

Back to Artist Point for snowshoeing in a hard-to-get beautiful day in January Of Washington. We’ve got to the picture lake around 10:30am. It has like 75% full already. The Bagley parking lot has been full and the entrance was blocked. We got to the trailhead around 11:00am and put on snowshoes right away. The snow was packed yet still very powdery. Can’t imagine that it was still Snow White after so long without new snow. We started to walk down to the lower Bagley lake, which was fully frozen and footprints on the snow were all over the place. When reaching the upper Bagley lake, we met quite a few groups of people taking various activities - walking into the chain lake areas, digging snow wholes, etc. With the sun in the top, it was felt warm and no hard feeling even though the temperature was a bit cold at around 27 Fahrenheit. We took some pictures with Table mountain and reflections under the bridge. And continued on to get back to trail to Artist Point. It was a bit steep with some loose snow. Not wanting to take more time and walk around with more steady elevation gain, we pushed forward and got back to the main trail in two such steep slopes. Now we met a ton of other groups in the main trail. Many were also taking advantage of such nice weather on the weekend, it inevitably became a bit hard to keep social distancing. Almost everyone wore a mask, passing others in a fast pace. Quickly we reached where we could see full view of Mt Shuksan. We then tried to get up another steep slope to Artist Point, yet it became difficult compared to three weeks ago as the zigzag track were gone. We ended up walking along the road to the next slope and climbed up. This time, we avoided the artist point parking and continued onto the trail to Huntoon point. Again a lot of groups were accompanying us. The view was impeccable with Mt Baker and Mt Shuksan both fully reveiling their faces. No wind too. We stopped at Huntoon point, took a lot of pictures, had lunch and returned around 3:00pm. It felt a bit chilly on our way back as the sun has slowly moving down. When we got back to the trailhead, it was around 4:00pm. And it was almost 4:20pm when we got back to our vehicle. We waited a bit and couldn’t see the sunset. It was a perfect day nonetheless. A clear day is always the essential to have a good hiking experience.

Sunny day for first time snowshoers who aren't very active. We had a slower pace, took breaks off to the side. The trail was busy but lots of space up top to enjoy the view.

Fog rolled in so visibility was poor, but a gorgeous terrain!

Bit icy today but always a fun little snowshoe!