Thanksgiving day was a fantastic day to hike up to Artists point. Sunny skies and mild breezy conditions made for a great time up for me and for many others who had come for winter adventures.
Drive is not too bad. As another report noted, there are patches of ice in the shade on the hairpin bends leading to Bagley lakes ski area. Just take it easy on the drive. Parking lot also has patches of ice, but not too challenging.
There are a multitude of social trails starting from the parking lot, which become challenging to follow. The trail is packed snow all the way until the final climb up to the Artists point parking lot - you will be better off with microspikes than snowshoes. That could change with the upcoming storms. The final push up to artists point is steep if you cut the trail, and mellow if not. There is about 6 inches of fresh snow in and near the lot, making walking without snowshoes harder, but still doable. Plenty were walking with just regular snow boots.
There were gusts of wind that moved around the fresh snow on the ridge to Huntoon point - be careful on the leeward sides as the snowdrifts there are very soft and you can easily sink in. But getting there is worth the views.
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