Snow-clearing starts at popular Whatcom County site — are you ready for a mountain hike?

Clearing has begun on the road to Artist Point, but it will probably be a while before sightseers can use the final 2.7 miles of the Mount Baker Highway to reach the popular parking lot vista.

Snow-plowing efforts began after Memorial Day, said R.B. McKeon, spokeswoman for the Washington State Department of Transportation.

“They have plows up there, but it’s a slow-going process,” McKeon told The Bellingham Herald.

Artist Point, which offers a stunning view of the North Cascades and access to high-country hiking, is closed annually near the Mt. Baker Ski Area after the first significant snowfall in autumn.

Clearing efforts — which require heavy snow-blowers, skip loaders and dump trucks — usually take six to eight weeks.

Once the road is clear, WSDOT crews have to inspect the road and rock wall near Heather Meadows for winter damage.

Some 617 inches of snow — more than 51 feet — fell over the 2022-2023 season at the nearby Mt. Baker Ski Area, according to the resort’s website.

Artist Point, at an altitude of some 5,000 feet, offers a 360-degree view that includes Mount Baker, Mount Shuksan and other high Cascades peaks.

It’s also the starting point for several summer hiking trails and a popular Whatcom County tourist destination.

There’s no admission to the national forest, but parking requires an annual Northwest Forest Pass or a $5 day-use pass, which is available at the U.S. Forest Service office on Mount Baker Highway, just east of the mountain village of Glacier.

It’s about a 90-minute drive from Bellingham, but road construction this year could add up to a half-hour to the trip, depending on traffic.