I started from the Bagley Lakes parking lot, at the Mt Baker Ski area at 12:00 noon.  I made it to Artist's Point by 1:20pm.  

It was a beautiful blue sky day.  I used micro spikes and didn't find that I needed my snow shoes at all. The trail was wide and well packed.  Plenty of people have been up here in the last week or two.  

I made it down in less than an hour. It was a wonderful workout!

Road heading up is in good condition, you must have traction tires and carry chains, right now it’s bare in spots with packed stuff heavily sanded so there was no slipping. Trail this morning had received some recent snow so there was only one lightly packed trail when I started snowshoeing up before sunrise. Definitely needed snowshoes, but I would imagine with how busy it was today that by the end of the weekend you could get by with spikes only if you wanted. I would note that this trail is fairly tame, but when you gain elevation you do it quick and in large chunks. So while it is a great trail to learn snowshoeing, you definitely need decent cardio.

I hiked with snowshoes but would recommend just using spikes. The steep parts made it difficult and slippery to go down with the snowshoes and spikes would have made things easier. Great sunny day and great view. It was quite warm actually 

Another bright sunny day so finally decided to head up to see Artist Point in the snow. The road on the drive up was completely clear all the way to the parking lot. I asked someone coming down if they would recommend snowshoes and they said yes so I strapped mine onto my pack, but started the hike with just micro spikes. I never ended up using the snowshoes and there was no postholing, but it looked like about half the people I passed had snowshoes. The views are incredible and worth it.

Bottom Line:

Beautiful sunset hike to Artist Point, and then on to Huntoon Point. In the late afternoon, the ascent is entirely in the shade, but with lots of reflective light from Shuksan and its many glaciers. Attaining the ridge at Artist Point, the sun had already set behind Mt Baker (sun still very low in the sky), but Shuksan was lit up brightly. With sunset, the horizon in every direction glowed yellow/orange eventually to pink. The subtle and deepening link light on Shuksan was unexpected. Stunning! Quite a number of folks camping overnight - I am jealous as sunrise will likely be a stunner as well!

Stats:

• Distance: ~4-3/4 miles
• Vertical: ~1200 ft
• Duration: 2-1/2 hours
• Road/Parking: Mt Baker Hwy was clear, but had icy sections, especially at lower elevations where freezing fog has left a layer of ice on everything. The trailhead parking lot at very end of road (in winter just short of Heather Meadows Visitor Center) with a mix of ski-area customers, snowshoers and backcountry skiers. Farthest row to the right is reserved for overnight parking with permit. No parking fee while ski area is in operation.
• Weather: Sunny, calm winds, 28F to start, dropping to 20F on return; it got fairly dark on the return without a moon, but the twilight was sufficient for navigation.
• Trail: Reached the trailhead just before 3pm for a sunset snowshoe out to Artist and Huntoon. With no new recent fresh snow and plenty of traffic, snowshoes were not really required, and we just headed out with microspikes. We did not take poles, but they would have been useful for a couple steeper sections. The way is definitely "tracked" but there are lots of views out to wilder areas of snow. We were "swimming upstream" on the way out, with lots of snowshoers returning from mid-day trips. The sunset crowd was much smaller, and what a show it was! I was not sure if sunrise or sunset would be better but can say that sunset was truly spectacular. Being nestled within a cluster of snowy peaks, there were beautiful yellows, oranges and pinks in every direction, even north up to the peaks straddling the Canadian border. Perhaps this makes it a better and more intimate winter sunset spot than similar perches at Mt Rainier. CAUTION: This is avalanche terrain - check the report in advance. The trail is mostly above tree line, and it would be easy to get lost in poor weather.
• Avalanche Danger: Low (Monday increasing to Moderate)
• Takeaway: Would like to try sunrise next, with some fresh snow! This time of year, sunrise is pretty late, making that goal much more achievable for this night owl ;)

I wish I had captured this hike with video, but the shady ascent had me thinking I had not timed the light right - boy, was I wrong. But the time I realized that it was too late to create a full-trail video :) Next time. But video from last year's decidedly snowier trip here.