This may very well have been the single most beautiful hike I have ever been on - and also one of the easiest. The views you get for such little work are incredible. Of course if you're looking for a little more of a workout you can do what my husband and I did and blaze your own steeper route to the top. We left Seattle at 10:30 and arrived at the trailhead at about 1:45, since we wanted to see the sunset. I really recommend arriving late, as long as you bring extra layers for the temp drop at sunset. The colors in the evening were spectacular and the crowds dissipated, making for an incredibly serene experience. *There are some more photos on my IG which is linked at the bottom.

Artist Point is one of the few places that MUST be visited at some point, even if you are limited to weekend days when everyone else is out on the trail. Unfortunately, it was a ZOO!!! I wish I could underline and bolden that to emphasize how many people were there. I don't know if there are guided groups that snowshoe to Artist Point, but when I started out at the trailhead at about 2:45pm, I must have passed at least 100 people coming back down to the parking area- many in large groups- and many with dogs. The road to the parking lot was in very good condition and passable by my Honda Civic, but if it had rained recently, I'm sure it would have been icy. The road leading up to the ski area is extremely windy with blind corners/hairpin turns for many miles. I started out late in the day with a goal of catching some photos of the sunset. I started at 2:45pm and reached Artist Point at 3:50. The trail is under deep snow but it's very packed down. It might be passable with good hiking boots, but I recommend snowshoes. You will be sharing the trail with MANY people and dogs so it's nice to get over to the side in some of the fresh snow to let the groups of 10+ people pass by, or just to get a semblance of solitude in the powder. The crowds thinned way out by sunset and it was actually very peaceful. There were some groups camping on the ridge and a few other quiet people watching the alpenglow. It was a great way to experience the area. Visit this place midweek if possible, or try a sunrise or sunset trip on the weekend. Remember basic backcountry winter travel safety. Bring a headlamp. Bring a thermos of something hot to enjoy during the sunset! Give yourself enough time to make the trip before it gets too dark in the afternoon. Brush up on proper trail etiquette such as: people going uphill have the right-of-way, keep dogs on a leash when there are a lot of people around, pack out blue bags, skiers have the right of way, etc. There are no signs for, or on, the trail right now, so know where you are going!

It was a beautiful sunny day! The parking lot was completely full when we arrived at 11 am. Lovely breathtaking views surrounded us the whole time. it was a beautiful winter wonderland experience. The road was very icy, but will maintained. The trail was well defined from several other snowshoers and no recent snow.

Awesome day at Baker, got there early and left as the crowds were arriving. Saw a bunch of people setting up camp for the night. Roads were great, have fun everyone!

We initially did this snowshoe back in Dec on a cloudy day that ended up becoming a pretty big snow storm, leaving 0 visibility. We made it to the artist point summer time parking lot with the help of some other random, determined snowshoers that had been before and knew the route, so it was crazy and fun but no views. We vowed to get back on a beautiful clear day this winter and this past Sat was forecasted to be clear; we were not disappointed. There were a lot of people, but Understandably so. The views were unbelievable and only about 5 miles round trip to Huntoon point.