We reached the entrance station at 9:15 a.m. Turned out they were still plowing farther up the road, so the gate didn't open till 10:30. We took advantage of the delay and turned into Heart o' the Hills Campground and then walked the Heart o' the Forest Trail. Lovely, easy hike.
Once the gate opened, the drive to the top was easy. There was some snow and ice on the road, but it was not a problem. The skies were blue, and the temperature was about 30 F. There was little wind.
The Park Service is no longer asking snowshoers to register before heading out. We parked by the start of Obstruction Point Rd and set out from there. We opted not to use the alternate access route described by WTA above, because this has not been a heavy snow year, and the road cut wasn't filled in with snow.
For the first .6 miles, we were breaking new trail, though we weren't sinking in too deep -- perhaps 6 to 8 inches. Once we reached the point where the alternate access route comes in on the left, a set of new ski tracks appeared on the road, which helped to break the trail for us.
We hiked about 2 miles to a sunny bare spot below Steeple Rock, and had our lunch there before turning back. All in all, it was a glorious day.
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