ROAD TO ARTIST POINT CLOSED – Effective 8 a.m. this morning, Wednesday Oct. 16, the final 2.7 miles of SR 542/Mt. Baker Highway, referred to as the road to Artist Point (milepost 54-57) are now closed. SR 542 remains open to up to this closure point. The first significant mountain snow is falling up there as you read this post, so while the photos don’t show it, for safety reasons (snow and ice), the last stretch of highway is now closed. As snow has started to fall, our maintenance crews have determined it’s time for its yearly winter nap up there. Once we close the road, the road stays closed. Historically, we close the gates between Oct. 15 and Nov. 1. The gates do not typically reopen until next spring/summer. The gates are closed to the traveling public, but the area is still open to recreators. This is the pretty typical time it closes every year so hope you were able to get up there and enjoy the last few miles of the Mount Baker Highway before winter arrived. Winter recreatio...