September 2026 · Artist Point, Mt Baker
He got home from eight months away and drove straight up the mountain
Austin proposed to Lili at Artist Point, at the very end of the Mt Baker Highway, on an early September evening with Mt Shuksan behind them. Evaro Studios shot it as a surprise, from a distance, with nobody else on the ridge.
He had been away eight months. He wrote to me in July, still deployed, with the whole plan already in his head: they met about three years ago at their local dive bar, moved in together a year and a half later, and he wanted the first real thing he did at home to be asking her. As an Artist Point proposal photographer I get a lot of mountain requests. I do not get many where the hard part is that the person asking has not been in the country.
Why Artist Point is worth the drive
Artist Point is the highest point you can drive to on the Mt Baker Highway, and it gives you Mt Shuksan on one side and Mt Baker on the other from the same parking lot. You do not have to earn it with a long hike, which matters when you are trying to get someone to a spot without explaining why.
The plan
How you hide a photographer on an open ridge
Picture Lake first
I asked Austin to build in Picture Lake, a few minutes below Artist Point at Heather Meadows. It is the reflection shot everyone knows, it is right by the road, and it gives you a reason to already be stopping and taking photos before the real thing happens. It has a second job too: if the last stretch of road to Artist Point is closed, Picture Lake is still there.
The distance is the disguise
There is no cover at Artist Point. It is open rock and sky. So I did not hide, I stayed far away and looked like another person with a camera, which at Artist Point is the most normal thing in the world.
They got up there before I did, and he texted that they were past the lake near the top with nobody around. We picked a spot slightly lower where it was quieter, he walked her down, and I walked toward them. He asked as soon as I was in position. She was, in his words, already getting suspicious.
She said yes
What happened after
They stayed up there. That is the advantage of a mountain on a weekday evening in September: once the question is answered, nobody is waiting for the spot and the light only gets better.
We shot portraits along the ridge, then dropped back down to Picture Lake for the reflection while there was still colour on Shuksan.
Sneak peeks went out the next day. Austin texted back that Lili was, and I am quoting him, fiending for the rest. The full gallery and a short film went up a week later, set to a song the two of them picked.
Plan yours
Booking an Artist Point proposal
What the session includes
One hour of coverage, hidden for the proposal and then portraits right after, 40 hand edited images, one short reel, a champagne toast setup, and sneak peeks in three to five days. Seattle proposal sessions start at $600. Mountain sessions like Artist Point are priced by location and include the travel, so tell me where you want to be and I will give you the number.
The one thing that decides your date
The road to Artist Point is seasonal. It opens when the snow clears, usually well into summer, and it closes again with the first real snowfall, which can come at the end of September. Check the pass report before you commit to a date, and keep Picture Lake as the backup, because Picture Lake is reachable when the top is not. If you are proposing in October, plan for Picture Lake and treat Artist Point as a bonus.
While you're there
Everything below is on the Mt Baker Highway, on the way up or the way back down.
Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest manages Artist Point, Picture Lake and Heather Meadows, and its site is where the closure notices go up first.
The WSDOT Mt Baker Highway pass report tells you whether the last stretch of road is open today. Check it the morning of.
Mt. Baker Ski Area sits at Heather Meadows just below Artist Point, and its lodge is the last parking and bathroom before the top.
Chair 9 in Glacier is the pizza and pub stop in the last town before the climb. Glacier is your final chance at food and fuel.
The North Fork Brewery in Deming is the one to aim for on the way home, a pizzeria and brewery on the lower stretch of the highway.
Artist Point proposal FAQ
When is Artist Point open?
Only in summer and early autumn. The last few miles of the Mt Baker Highway stay closed under snow for most of the year and reopen once it clears, then shut again with the first serious snowfall. Late September is already a gamble. Check the WSDOT pass report before you set a date.
What if the road to Artist Point is closed on my date?
Propose at Picture Lake instead. It is a few minutes lower at Heather Meadows, it is open when the top is not, and it is the Mt Shuksan reflection that most people picture when they think of Mt Baker anyway.
How do you photograph a surprise proposal somewhere with no cover?
From a long way off, with a long lens. Artist Point is open rock, so hiding is not an option and it is not needed either. A person with a camera at a famous viewpoint is invisible. We agree roughly where you will stand and a signal, you walk her there, and I am already shooting.
How far is Artist Point from Seattle?
It is a long drive, roughly two and a half to three hours each way, plus the climb up the highway at the end. Build in more time than you think, go on a weekday if you can, and aim for the last couple of hours of light.
Tell me your date and I will tell you honestly whether the road will be open and what the light does that evening. Planning a proposal at Artist Point or anywhere on Mt Baker? Check your date, see the Seattle proposal packages and pricing, or read the Lake Union proposal and the Kerry Park proposal.
