Artist Point and Picture Lake are located along the Mount Baker Highway.
Picture Lake and Mount Shuksan is one of the most photographed scenes in Washington.
Artist Point is at the upper end of the highway, snowbound most of the year.
This first set of images was taken on Monday, July14, at the Baker Lake Boat Launch. Mount Baker looms nearby and Mt Shuksan is off to the north, across the lake.
The Boat Launch has one very big, bright light, high up on a poll, illuminating the area at night. This is the source of the light on the trees.
About 11:30 pm the Northern Lights were visible and I was able to get a few pics.
For the most part I used the following settings: Shutter speed: 30 sec; f/2.8 and 1600-2000 ISO. I used a very long exposure on one of these shots and you can see the stars stretched a bit.
The next night I ventured up the Mt Baker Highway, heading to Picture Lake, but the comet was rising in the Northwest…the road is gated a bit past the Heather Meadows Ranger Station, again, view blocked…so we wound up along the road! Got a few decent pics…
Park Butte Lookout is located on the south side of Mount Baker. Access is via Baker Lake Road. Here is the link with details. The hike in is about 3.5 miles. It usually opens in July, depends upon snow melt. You can spend the night in the Lookout, its a first come first serve sort of thing…if you plan to stay the night, be certain to bring a tent because it most likely be full!
I’ve spent 14 nights in or near the lookout, with other people and several times alone. It always magical, even in a storm.
Here are a few images from recent trips.
Over the years I have managed a few decent shots of the night sky from the lookout.
Views of Mount Baker and the Sisters are beyond spectacular for both sunrise and sunset.
Not long ago I saw an image of Skagit River with Mt Baker looming above. It was a gorgeous image and started me on a hunt.
I have been here in Skagit Valley for 15 years now and have never encountered a vista that encompassed both the Mountain and the River. Skagit River runs east to west through the valley and Baker sits about 10 miles to the north.
A short study of the map revealed that there are several spots where the Skagit turns back on itself so that you can look “down the river” and right at Mt Baker. I started my search along the Concrete Sauk Valley Road, looking to visit the confluence of the Sauk and Skagit Rivers. It was a lot of fun tooling about, on both sides of the river, scouting for views, vistas, and access trails down to the gravel bars along the river.
Here are a few pics from my endeavors:
After a bit of search I finally found a spot along the Concrete-Sauk Valley Road where you can scramble down to the gravel bar and out to this view: Looking north to Mt Baker, from the Skagit River
The Mt Baker Highway (WA Rte 542) runs from Bellingham Bay east, through the town of Glacier, past the two ski lodges and finally, to the roads end, at Artist Point.
The road to the ski areas is open year round, but the last few miles of road up to Artist Point is only open in the summer.
The view is quite dramatic, with Mt Shuksan looming above on one side, while the huge snow cone of Mt Baker sits by at arms reach.
Here are a few pics from a recent visit at sunset, and beyond.
The Baker River drains an area of 270 square miles in a complex of deep valleys partially inside North Cascades National Park.
Access is year-round via the Baker Lake Road. To get there travel east from Sedro-Woolley on Highway 20 about 15 miles. Baker Lake Road is well marked, its about 26 miles (20 paved, 6 gravel) from Highway 20 to the end of the road at the parking area for the Baker River Trail.
Baker River makes a great destination for anyone traveling along the Cascade Loop. There are great hikes, camping, boating and more along Baker Lake!
Along the way there are some wonderful views of Mt Baker.
At the end of the road there is a large parking area with rest rooms. You MUST have NW Forest Service Parking Pass to park there! You can buy one in Sedro-Woolley and sometimes at the gas stations along Highway 20, near the intersection with Baker Lake Rd.
Most of the trails in the North Cascades involve going up and down a lot. Seems like mostly up… But the Baker River Trail gently meanders its way along the river. There are some wonderful old-growth trees along the way.
About a quarter mile from the parking area there is a junction with the Baker Lake Trail. This trail crosses the big suspension bridge and heads back south, along the east side of Baker River and then Baker Lake.
The Baker River Trail continues alongside of the river. Here and there are a few spots where you can scramble down to the gravel bars.
Each year spring floods carve a new path. There is good camping, out in the open with views of Hagan Mtn and Ragged Ridge to the north.
Any season or weather is good for a hike here.
Fall can be spectacular along the Baker River. Often the side channels are filled with salmon.
I have camped on the gravel bars many times and have found that its a great place for night sky images. If you can manage to get both no moon and no clouds, the Baker River provides some wonderful south facing views. Here are a few.
If you’re interested in a guided photo tour of the North Cascades, here is the link:Â North Cascades Photo Tours
In October the North Cascades change color. The autumn colors along the Baker River are magnificent.
Depending upon the year the river is filled with salmon in October.
The views of Mount Baker from the Baker Lake road are not too bad…
Everything about a hike along the river on a fall day is perfect, the temperature, the lack of bugs, the late fall-afternoon light, the leaves, the colors, the smells…I could go on and on…
The trail starts at the end of the Baker Lake Road. Here is the link with the details.
Be sure to have a Northwest Forest Pass to park at the trailhead. You can get one in Sedro-Woolley at the Chamber Office on Metcalf Street and at the North Cascades National Park / Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest Office on Highway 20 in Sedro-Woolley.
Last Thursday I took 47 students on a field trip to Artist Point. It was awesome!
Artist Point is the coolest place you can drive a car here in our state, and on a fall day with nice weather its unforgettable. Located at the end of the Mount Baker Highway, at more than 5,000 feet elevation) Artist Point is right between Mount Baker and Mount Shuksan.
The weather was perfect and we had a blast. Most of the kids had never been to Artist Point before, in fact many had never been in the mountains until today!
Just the bus ride up the switch backs at the end of the highway was breath taking…
This all started with Career Day; I was invited to the Burlington Edison High School to present what life is like for a professional photographer. I came and did the talk twice and the photo teacher started to recruit me, he was retiring soon and suggested I take his spot.
So now I am the Photography Teacher at the Burlington Edison High School! This is my 3rd year. I have a full schedule of Photography Classes, this semester I have about 165 students.
The school has about 40 Canon Rebel DSLRs; a wide selection of lenses, studio lights, Photoshop… so I can teach the students to take and edit cool pics. And field trips!
We stopped at Picture Lake for some shots of Mt Shuksan…
Often I go on a field trip and take few images, spending most time advising, but the light and setting was so stunning that managed to snap a few pics…
Picture Lake is right in the middle of the two ski areas. From there we drove up to the end of the highway, at Artist Point
Our next Field Trip adventure is Oct. 16th and I cant wait!
In 2015 I had the good fortune to make three visits to Park Butte Lookout. Its always good fortune when you visit such a place, I have spent more than 20 nights in, on or near the lookout. Stormy or clear, with others or alone, each visit unique.
The last several years I have passed up chances to do Park Butte in July, thinking I’d have plenty of opportunity in August, only to have my plans dashed by wildfires. That’s not to say that the local forest burned, but rather smoke from fires in Canada and Eastern Washington filled the valleys. Photographically the images of mountain landscapes are utterly ruined by the smoke.
So, here I sit, looking at these three trips in June, July and August, 2015.
And its helping, I am feeling better already!
There was a high alert for sun activity making the Northern Lights visible, so I made my way up to the lookout. The only stellar shots I got were before sunset.
I spent the night alone at the Lookout, and the sky was sublime. The Sisters, across the valley and the Middle Fork stretching towards the sun, it was quite a show.
This trip was a busy one! I brought 2 clients up to stay the night, but the Lookout was taken, so we camped in tents just below. The sunset was unbelievable.
Park Butte Lookout and Mount Baker Panorama
and the next morning was one of those magical moments that wouldn’t end. The snow-melt tarns are perfect for reflections and the low angle light sumptuous in its tone…
Hopefully the smoke clears soon and I’ll be back for the 2018 versions of the Lookout!
From Wikipedia: After Mount Rainier, Mount Baker is the most heavily glaciated of the Cascade Range volcanoes; the volume of snow and ice on Mount Baker, 0.43 cu mi (1.79 km3) is greater than that of all the other Cascades volcanoes (except Rainier) combined. It is also one of the snowiest places in the world; in 1999, Mount Baker Ski Area, located 14 km (8.7 mi) to the northeast, set the world record for recorded snowfall in a single season—1,140 in (2,900 cm).[12]
Mount Baker falls with in the confines of the Mount Baker Snoqualmie National Forest. Here are a few pictures I’ve taken from various vantage points. You can see more and buy prints and calendars at AndyPorterImages.com
North Western Images - photos by Andy Porter 