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Snowshoeing

Snowshoeing in the Lowlands of Mount Baker

Kyra

•8 minutes to read
Snowshoeing in the Lowlands of Mount Baker

Back near the end of January I decided to purchase a snowshoe tour through REI Events that took me snowshoeing through the Mount Baker lowlands. I'm so glad I did as the excursion was fun, the weather was great, and it was a winter wonderland. So come along with me as we snowshoe the trail!

Pinterest geared image showing my post title, images from below, and my main URL.

Good to Know

The excursion was in Mount Baker, Washington with two REI guides so I had full confidence in our safety. If I were to repeat this snowshoe outing; however, I wouldn't go as far by myself unless the weather was good and I did a more thorough research into avalanche awareness.

Trail

While on the excursion I used AllTrails to track where we went so afterwards I was easily able to see exactly where we had gone. We went above the tree line as the weather was good and the guides were experienced in spotting potential avalanche areas. Even so they told us, on the last section, to not stop just in case.

Image shows the snowshoe path taken from AllTrails that we took that day.
We started and ended at the parking lot, shown near the top, and stopped for a food break by the Artist Point trailhead near the bottom. This was a "there and back" trip and we mainly followed our previous path on the way back.
Screenshot of the total stats screenshotted from AllTrails. It shows the length, elevation gain, moving time, average pace, calories, total time, and the splits.
In case you're interested here are the stats afterwards. I didn't pause it when we took breaks so that would have affected the pace too.

I went looking for an alternative link to give you for the Mt. Baker Lowlands Snowshoe Tour. On AllTrails the Upper Lodge to Artist Point Trail might be the closest match but it does go a bit further than we went. That said, the Washington Trail Association website looks way more helpful as the links I found, using their map function, are specific to snowshoeing with two links found in the general area: Huntoon Point Snowshoe and Artist Point Snowshoe.

Screenshot shows the map and trail on the right and the hike information on the left.
Took this screenshot of the Upper Lodge to Artist Point Trail on the AllTrails website on January 28th, 2024.
Collage of two side by side screenshots. The left shows the Huntoon Point Snowshoe while the right shows the Artist Point snowshoe.
Took this screenshot of two side by side browser windows both showing the Washington Trail Association website that might match up with the area: Huntoon Point Snowshoe and Artist Point Snowshoe. Screenshot taken on January 29th, 2024.

Other Activities There

The first hill we went up was alongside a ski slope where people were skiing down. I later discovered that they were manually going up using climbing skins and on the weekend, if the weather is good, there's a ski lift in operation. I looked online and found this trail map for the ski hill if you're interested. Additionally, closer to the parking lot on the way back there were several families with kids playing and tobogganing in the snow.

On The Way There

On the way there we stopped at the Skagit Valley Food Co-op for a quick stop at the bathrooms along with optional food, coffee, and gift shop browsing. Once we arrived at the trailhead parking lot there was the option of vaulted toilets but if you prefer a more flushable option there was also an earlier rest stop, through the Forest Service, on the way there.

Alternatives

If you're just looking to rent snowshoes I know REI offers rentals from various locations including, if you prefer the Snoqualmie area for instance, onsite at the Hyak Sno-Park. If you want a tour there's always the REI ones like what I took but I've since noticed that the forest service has a Snowshoe with a Ranger version. Additionally, Cherlyn at Alpine Wanderlust wrote an awesome post titled: beginner’s guide to snowshoeing | resources for 20+ washington hikes. She has a comprehensive guide to what you need and, if you're in Washington, a list of potential hikes with links. For example here's the one for Artist/Huntoon Point:

artist point-huntoon point – caution
Description: 4 miles round trip, 1000 ft gain, above tree line, open slopes
Avalanche Risk: NWAC, risk increases due to open slopes and passes near a lot of avalanche terrain, minimized if you stay along the ridge and don’t venture under steep slopes
Footwear: Almost always snowshoes or skis, snow is deep here
Drive: 2.5-3 hr from Seattle to Bagley Lakes Loop Parking, Highway SR 542 conditions, paved road
Trip Reports: WTA, AllTrails

Now Onto The Photos!

As I went on a group tour they stopped specifically to let as take photos at the more popular spots including occasionally offering to take our photos for us. That said, the other photos were taken based on whether the tour paused and if you had a chance to snap them.

Parking

The parking lot seemed huge at the time but it was also mostly empty seeing that it was a Friday morning. At one end of this parking lot there are two vaulted toilets with, at that time. toilet paper but we definitely needed our own hand sanitizer.

Image shows a view of the plowed parking lot with the mountain in the back.

Heading Out

At the last stop they handed out gaiters so we'd have time to put them on. At this final stop they handed out trekking poles and snowshoes before we headed to the snow so we could put them on, get a feel for them, and head on out.

Image shows a hill covered with trees, snow, and some fog with a blue cloud streaked sky behind.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill with trees in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and a mountain slope rising on the right the background.
A clear path with snow with trees to the left and in the background along with mountains and clouds.

Heather Meadows Visitor Center

When looking into the hike I was curious why the Heather Meadows Visitor Center closed back in September since this was where we were going. Then we passed by the building inaccessibly surrounded by snow and I fully realized that the road to the center wasn't plowed and couldn't be accessed by vehicles. I had to include some shots in case you've hiked this area in the summer so you can see how much the snow changed the area.

A trail goes in front with trees to the left, the snow covered building to the right on a hill, and mountains in the background.
This photo is taken from a bit higher looking down at in nestled within the trees at the base of a hill with mountains in the background.

Heading up the Ski Slope

With the visiter center pointed out we continued on but this time went up a steeper incline next to a cordoned off ski area. Here the slope was being groomed so the quiet of the slope was broken every time the vehicle came closer. While going up it was fun to watch the infrequent skiers going down and, on the way back down later, we needed to get out of the way for them heading up using climbing skins.

Snowy slopes, trees, Ridgeline, and a more cloudy day in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Empty slope with tracks and a hint of trees beyond the hill line.

Above the Ski Slope

Above the ski slope we had a break to breathe, enjoy the view, and take photos. In the next photo you can see a small flag to the right showing the top edge of that slope.

Image shows me in snowshoes with my poles grasped in one hand standing smiling with snow covered hills and mountains in the background.
Image shows me in snowshoes with my poles grasped in one hand standing smiling with snow covered hills and a ridgeline.

Continuing On

We continued on after the break for photos enjoying the flatter terrain, for a bit, after that last hill.

Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.

View at the Top

We lucked out with the weather and favorable conditions so after a pause to check how everyone was feeling we decided to continue on and ultimately go up another steep hill where we could stop, according to the map afterwards, near the Artist Point trailhead, for a picturesque lunch. At the top we stomped out a spiral in the snow creating a flattened area, made sure to add a layer of clothing as we weren't moving, and sat down to rest, eat, and have a hot drink.

Word of warning: The guides had been trained to spot avalanche dangers and after confirming that we were good to go warned us to not stop over that final stretch, both there and again while heading back, just in case there were issues.

Some stomped down snow on a hill with picturesque snowy trees, hills, mountains, and the sun through the clouds.
Some snow on a hill with picturesque snowy trees, hills, and mountains.
Pano image of a snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Image shows me in snowshoes with my poles grasped in one hand standing smiling with snow covered hills and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
One of the guides noticed the glacier being visible so I quickly snapped this image of it with a tree in the foreground.

Heading Back

This trek is a "there and back" so once we finished eating and snapping photos we headed back down. On previous hikes heading back still looked amazing but seemed similar to everything we saw before. This time it was different though I'm not quite sure if it was because I was in a larger group that didn't stop as much, looked down more with the pace and snowshoeing itself, or because of the clouds cover changed but heading back was so much more picturesque.

Snowy hill in the foreground with a treed hill and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and mountains in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and the sky in the background.
Snowy treed hill in the foreground, mountains in the background, and cloudy sky above.
Snowy treed hill in the foreground, mountains in the background, and cloudy sky above.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and the sky in the background.
Snowy hill in the foreground, trees in the middle range, and the sky in the background.
This photo is taken from a bit higher looking down at in nestled within the trees at the base of a hill with mountains in the background.

And Done

With that the snowshoeing adventure was over so we returned our gear and climbed back into the van to be driven back to the pickup spot. It was a great time with amazing snowy views that I had to share with you!

I hope all these photos find you well and you're having a great week.

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