Artist Point Snowshoe — Saturday, May. 10, 2025

Got to the Bagley Lake parking lot just after sunrise and there were plenty of parking spots in the lot and close by, but it was pretty much full when I left a few hours later. The trail starts out to the left of the vault toilets by the entrance to the lot. There is a sign at the start of the trail/road that says to avoid walking over the groomed sections of the road if you're hiking or wearing snowshoes to keep it smooth for skiers and snowboarders. I don't have snowshoes so I headed up with spikes on my boots and the first mile and a half were pretty well packed. I turned around about a half mile from artist's point because I was postholing past my knees. On the way back down they had just groomed the road up until the backcountry entrance sign. I walked on the side of the groomed section of road the best I could but was postholing pretty deep again. Luckily there is a trail that is pretty well packed just parallel to the road once you get to the Heather Meadows Visitor Center that a lot of people have been using for snowshoeing and cross country skiing. Definitely would have been a lot easier with snowshoes but it was still a fun little hike!