Artist Point
The road simply stops here, in a parking lot with Mount Shuksan on one side and Mount Baker on the other. Every summer WSDOT crews dig out the last 2.7 miles above Heather Meadows, and the day they break through has landed anywhere from mid-May to mid-August. In 1999, the winter Mount Baker set the world snowfall record, they never got through at all.
This year
Live plow-season reports load here. For today's conditions, go straight to WSDOT's status page.
Conditions change by the hour at 5,160 feet — check WSDOT's status page before you drive.
The record
Usually opens around the start of July, though the last few years have come in June.
Will it be open for your trip?
| If your dates start… | The road was already open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| June 15 | 3 of 22 years | 14% |
| July 1 | 12 of 22 years | 55% |
| July 15 | 14 of 22 years | 64% |
| August 1 | 19 of 22 years | 86% |
| August 15 | 21 of 22 years | 95% |
| September 1 | 22 of 22 years | 100% |
Odds come from the full record below — past springs, not a promise about this one.
When does Artist Point close?
Closes with the first real snowfall, usually the middle of October; three falls in the record it came in September. The winter closure covers the last 2.7 miles of SR 542 above Heather Meadows, from milepost 54.55 up to the Artist Point parking lot.
| If you're driving on… | The road was still open in | That's |
|---|---|---|
| September 22 | 21 of 21 years | 100% |
| October 1 | 18 of 21 years | 86% |
| October 8 | 14 of 21 years | 67% |
| October 15 | 9 of 21 years | 43% |
| October 22 | 6 of 21 years | 29% |
| November 1 | 0 of 21 years | 0% |
Closing dates come from the same record as the openings — the year-by-year table below. Past autumns, not a promise about this one: a single storm can end the season a fortnight early.
Every year on record
| Year | Opened | Closed | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | June 10 | — | wsdot.wa.gov | |
| 2025 | June 27 | October 15 | — | |
| 2024 | June 21 | October 16 | — | |
| 2021 | August 17 | October 7 | Repairs to a crumbling 1930s wall above Heather Meadows held the road shut until mid-August, and only the last 1.8 miles reopened. | — |
| 2020 | August 13 | October 12 | Closed early, before any snow, so crews could take down part of the failing wall above Heather Meadows. | — |
| 2019 | June 9 | October 7 | — | |
| 2018 | June 21 | October 28 | — | |
| 2017 | June 29 | October 9 | — | |
| 2016 | June 23 | October 14 | — | |
| 2015 | May 14 | November 1 | Earliest opening in WSDOT's record. | — |
| 2014 | July 1 | October 23 | — | |
| 2013 | July 1 | September 30 | — | |
| 2012 | July 24 | October 16 | — | |
| 2011 | — | October 26 | Crews reached only the Heather Meadows visitor center, about a mile up, on Aug. 5; the road never opened all the way to Artist Point that summer. | — |
| 2010 | July 30 | October 25 | — | |
| 2009 | July 14 | September 29 | — | |
| 2008 | July 18 | October 6 | — | |
| 2007 | July 28 | September 27 | Earliest closing in WSDOT's record. | — |
| 2006 | July 27 | October 24 | — | |
| 2005 | June 29 | October 3 | — | |
| 2004 | June 30 | October 18 | — | |
| 2003 | July 15 | October 10 | — | |
| 2002 | August 9 | — | WSDOT lists no closing date for that fall. | — |
| 1999 | — | — | Never opened. Mount Baker set the world snowfall record that winter. | — |
Record drawn from WSDOT: Artist Point — history of opening and closing dates (archived October 2021; page since retired) · WSDOT news release: Road to Artist Point opens June 21, 2024 (archived) · WSDOT news release: Road to Artist Point closed for the season Oct. 16, 2024 (archived) · WSDOT news release: Road to Artist Point closes Oct. 15, 2025 (archived) · WSDOT news release: Road to Artist Point reopens June 10, 2026. Years with their own link were taken from that record. Last checked August 14, 2026.
Artist Point: opening and closing questions
- When does Artist Point close for the winter?
- Closes with the first real snowfall, usually the middle of October; three falls in the record it came in September. Across the 21 closings on record the gate has gone shut around October 14 — as early as September 27 in 2007, as late as November 1 in 2015. The winter closure covers the last 2.7 miles of SR 542 above Heather Meadows, from milepost 54.55 up to the Artist Point parking lot.
- When did Artist Point close last?
- The most recent closing on the record is October 15, 2025. Every other season we can source is in the table on this page.
- Can you drive Artist Point in winter?
- No. The last 2.7 miles of SR 542 above Heather Meadows, from milepost 54.55 up to the Artist Point parking lot is gated once the season ends, and it stays shut until spring plowing gets through. WSDOT posts the gate's current state.
- Is Artist Point open right now?
- This page is the season record, not the road's condition this morning. Washington State Department of Transportation publishes today's state of the road, and that is the one to check before you drive — conditions turn over in hours at this elevation. For planning: the usual season runs from about July 1 to about October 14.
- When does Artist Point open again?
- Usually opens around the start of July, though the last few years have come in June. The median of the 22 openings on record is July 1; the earliest was May 14 in 2015 and the latest August 17 in 2021.