travel to point roberts wa

How to Visit One of America's Geographic Oddities: Point Roberts, Washington

Here at TPG , we're big fans of extremes and geographic oddities . No visit to Florence is complete without swinging by the microscopic nation of San Marino , and no visit to southern Spain should omit a selfie from The Rock of Gibraltar . If you've scored a great deal to Seattle (SEA) or Vancouver (YVR), I've got another of those can't-miss places to add to your list: Point Roberts, Washington.

What's Weird About It?

Let's put it this way: If you live in Point Roberts and have a child in school from fourth grade on, they'll need to cross an international border to get to class. Better make sure you pack the passport alongside that PB&J!

If you pull up Point Roberts on a map, you'll notice that it's completely isolated from the rest of The Evergreen State. The town is a pene exclave – you can't travel to it on land without going through another country. Practically speaking, Point Roberts should simply be a part of Canada, but in settling the Pacific Northwest American-Canadian border dispute, the line that separates the United States from Canada (the 49th parallel) created an awkward scenario of ownership.

If you're Canadian, you'll need to show your passport when driving over. If you're American, you'll need to show your passport as well given that you're technically driving in from a foreign country. The border crossing typically doesn't have a long wait – after all, only a thousand or so people live in Point Roberts – but it's a proper border crossing nonetheless.

What Do I Do There?

If you're Canadian, you drive over to fuel up your car for less than what you'd typically pay in Canada. If you're an explorer with a penchant for visiting geographic anomalies, there's plenty to see on a half-day trip. I drove over in 2011 after flying into Seattle–Tacoma International Airport (SEA), heading north through the border into Canada, and then looping back around to re-enter Washington. Because it's surrounded by water on three sides, there's a lot of coastline to savor.

Visit Lighthouse Marine Park : This sits just south of the The Point's airport, where you can fly twice weekly to Bellingham International Airport (BLI) on San Juan Airlines. While small, the coastline here is protected, providing a serene view of the waters that separate you from Mayne Island and Galiano Island (both part of British Columbia, Canada). I'd recommend putting your toes in the sand while pondering the fact that you're probably breathing Canadian air while in the United States. It's where maple bacon and freedom unite.

Dine at South Beach House : It's quaint, it's homey and it's right on the waterfront. You can fill yourself up on local seafood while watching the sun set across the Strait of Georgia.

Hike Lily Point Marine Reserve : On the southeast tip of Point Bob (yeah, that's what the locals say), you'll find a maintained hiking trail down to the beach. It's a beautiful sliver of land and an ideal spot to pull out a book and clear your head.

Cruise Roosevelt Way : The road that separates the US from Canada is cool simply because it's a border road. You'll also find monuments here and there signifying the international border, which make for excellent photos.

Get a round of 18 in : Of course there's golfing here! Bald Eagle Golf Club at Point Roberts is the place to be if you want to say you snagged a birdie golfing in America while hanging off of Canada.

How Can I Get There Using Points and Miles?

Point Roberts is a 3-hour drive from Seattle (SEA), just more than an hour from Bellingham (BLI), and less than 45 minutes from Vancouver (VYR).

Seattle and Vancouver are served by all of the major air carriers, including United, American, Delta and a host of international airlines. Be sure to check out our guides on scoring cheap award flights here, and follow TPG Alerts on Twitter for airfare deals to these airports.

Once you land, you'll need a rental car to explore Point Roberts – especially if your family is in tow . We're huge fans of AutoSlash , and you can read more on why we recommend the service here .

Have you stopped by Point Roberts while road-tripping in the Pacific Northwest? Let us know in comments or chime in at the TPG Lounge on Facebook !

Point Roberts

The unique history and beauty of Point Roberts has always made it a favorite destination for visitors to Bellingham and Whatcom County. It is separated from the rest of Washington State by 23 driving miles through British Columbia and can only be accessed through Canada or by small plane or a private boat.

Located on the southern part of Canada's Tsawwassen Peninsula, Point Roberts is a 4.9-square-mile exclave that became part of the U.S. when it was discovered that the land extended south of the 49th parallel, the official boundary line drawn to separate the U.S. and British territories in 1846. Today, about 1,000 people call the Point their home year-round.

This community is roughly an hour from Bellingham (depending on border wait times), 30 minutes by car from Vancouver, and a 10-minute drive from the Tsawwassen ferry dock that links the mainland to Vancouver Island and Victoria, B.C.

What To See and Do In Point Roberts

We recommend visiting Lighthouse Marine Park . This includes a full-service campground, boat ramp, picnic sites and boardwalk. Two more popular parks include Lily Point Marine Park and Monument Park . Orca whales sightings are common on the west side of Point Roberts.

Boating is central to the life here where the marine atmosphere colors much of the local activity. A marina, yacht club, and wide variety of marine services offer virtually everything a boater could need, including a head start to the San Juans, Gulf Islands, and some of the finest fishing, sailing and cruising in the Northwest.

In addition to the outdoors, there are restaurants, taverns, a golf course, and a quaint bed and breakfast.

Visit the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce website for even more ideas! 

PLAN YOUR TRIP Point Roberts

Essential point roberts.

• Saltwater Cafe
• Kiniski's Reef Tavern
• Breakwaters Bar & Grill
• South Beach House
• Point Roberts Shell Center
• Enchanted Forest Trail
• Monument Park
• Lighthouse Marine Park
• Auntie Pam's Country Store
• Lily Point Marine Reserve

Point Roberts

• 1.1 Visitor information
• 2.2 By public transit
• 2.3 By plane
• 2.4 By water
• 3 Get around
• 11.2 Wireless Services

Point Roberts is a small community in the Northwest Cascades region of the state of Washington , a tiny piece of the U.S. where the only road in or out is through Canada. This rectangular near-exclave sits on the Tsawwassen Peninsula just below the 49th parallel.

Understand [ edit ]

Point Roberts looks at first glance to be a topographical error; a small peninsula which should otherwise be in Delta , a populous Vancouver suburb, is severed by the 49th parallel to form a geographic dead-end where a US community is only accessible overland from Canada .

As a US near-exclave, Point Roberts is effectively a gated community guarded by the US Department of Homeland Security. Sometimes visitors to Canada making a day trip to Point Roberts, but lacking a multiple entry visa to Canada, get stuck in Point Roberts. U.S. law enforcement has used the Point, perceived as almost part of Canada, to trap US fugitives hiding in Canada. Once lured onto US soil on a false pretense, the Feds swoop in on the hapless crook who now has nowhere to run except into the ocean or back to the border and into the arms of US Border Patrol.

The point's unusual border status attracted more than a few smugglers during the Prohibition era. In the 1950s and 1960s, a handful of well-known musicians performed live here to circumvent British Columbia 's then-strict "blue laws", which restricted the sale of alcohol on Sunday. (The law was repealed in time for Expo '86.)

Before the 11 September 2001 attacks in New York City (and the US crackdowns on the border which followed) locals tended to take the ability to cross freely for granted. That has all changed; much property on the point is still owned by Vancouverites as cottage sites ― likely because Canadian land prices in the area have long been among the most prohibitive in the nation ― but border access has grown progressively more awkward.

With fewer than 1,200 people (2020), Point Roberts has close ties with its neighbor to the north, serving as a border-hop destination for Canadians in Greater Vancouver . It has an elementary school but no middle or high school; after third grade, students have to cross an international border four times a day to go to school in the United States. (Canadian students can go to school in Delta .)

The border was closed in March 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic , and after a year and a half, reopened. Despite this, many who left during the pandemic have yet to return, although there are hopeful signs. Record-setting gas prices on the other side of the border have made the local gas stations the first to economically recover. Many cottages are also now finally being seen to by their owners as crossing the border becomes easier. Point Roberts did not become a ghost town this time, but it came uncomfortably close.

Visitor information [ edit ]

• Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Information Center , [email protected] . ( updated Jan 2022 )

Get in [ edit ]

By car [ edit ].

Point Roberts is only accessible by car through a single border crossing:

For details, see the Get in — By car section of the Northwest Cascades region article.

By public transit [ edit ]

While no buses cross the border, a few TransLink public bus routes serve Diefenbaker Park in Delta, just a few blocks from the border crossing. From Bridgeport Skytrain station, Routes 601 and 602 run all day and drop off on the far side of the park, roughly a 10-minute walk away. Follow the edge of the park until you reach the washrooms; the checkpoint will be visible from there.

Routes 603 and 604 also depart from Bridgeport on weekday afternoons starting around 3PM, dropping you off across from the washrooms, on the side of the park closest to the border crossing. The checkpoint will be visible just a couple hundred meters down the road. Buses 603 and 604 only go all the way back to Bridgeport on weekday mornings until 8:15AM; during the rest of the day these buses only go as far as South Delta Exchange, where you will have to get off and wait for a 601 bus.

By plane [ edit ]

By water [ edit ].

• 48.9772 -123.0633 1 Point Roberts Marina , 713 Simundson Dr , ☏ +1 360 945-2255 , fax : +1 360 945-0927 . A marina with fuel, and a boat launch. Pier Restaurant at +1 360-945-7437 (945-PIER) with a bar and grill, pizza, seafood, burgers, salads.  
• 48.9796 -123.064 2 Westwind Marine , 721 Simundson Dr , ☏ +1 360 945-5523 . Boat repair service.  

Get around [ edit ]

• Point Roberts Cab Company , 1800 Benson Road, ☏ +1 360-945-2757 . The only local taxi service in Point Roberts.
• Uber is also now an option on the Point, with one driver available on a semi-regular basis. If the app shows no availability, the driver can be contacted at ☏ +1-604-900-0120 . The driver is able to cross the border and take passengers to some destinations in metro Vancouver, and to Bellingham (for approximately $100).

See [ edit ]

The line separating Point Roberts from Canada is the westernmost land border between Canada and the continental US. The westernmost spot is marked by a large monument honoring several UK soldiers from the 1800s. The monument is in a small park with a bench looking out over the Georgia Strait, the Gulf Islands, and Vancouver Island.

• Roosevelt Drive ( north, along the Canadian border ). Always open . Along this unassuming lane, the "undefended international border" is concretely visible. A narrow trench and periodic metre-high obelisks mark the boundary. To the north, back yards and wood fences of suburban Tsawwassen homes crowd in. To the south, groves of trees reveal the pastoral spirit of Point Roberts. No forbidding wall or cleared no-man's-land mars the scene. Free . ( updated Sep 2016 )
• 49.00194 -123.08914 1 Monument Park . This small park includes a monument marking the establishment of the border between Canada and the USA. There is also a short but steep walk to the beach. Free . ( updated Sep 2016 )

Do [ edit ]

• 48.994439 -123.083226 1 Bald Eagle Golf Club at Point Roberts , 1350 Pelican Pl , ☏ +1 360 945-4653 , toll-free: +1-866-460-0368 . Championship-sized golf & country club attracts golfers from around North America. Eagle's Roost restaurant serves breakfast and lunch. Due to slightly dryer and sunnier conditions compared to the Fraser Valley, weather in Point Roberts is ideal for golfing. ( updated Dec 2021 )
• There are many mountain bike trails that run through Point Roberts to the southeast corner of the peninsula. Ramps and jumps are set up for beginner to intermediate level mountain bike riders.
• 48.972562 -123.083237 2 Lighthouse Marine Park , ☏ +1 360 945-4911 . Park on southwest corner of the peninsula with beach and public restrooms, 21 acres with unobstructed view over the Georgia Strait to the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island . Thirty camp sites with fire pit, picnic table and parking. Whales can be spotted from here at times. $22/night for camper . ( updated Mar 2023 )
• 49.001309 -123.035191 3 Maple Beach . The largest public beach in Point Roberts. Free parking at the northern end of the beach. Free . ( updated Sep 2016 )

Buy [ edit ]

Before the border was closed due to COVID-19, Point Roberts' main business was selling gas in litres (at lower tax rates), dairy products and US postal services to Canadians. There was also strong demand for food and alcohol for visitors entering Point Roberts to access their cottages. Nonetheless, many basic amenities (such as a department store or a pharmacy) are absent.

As of March 2022, record gas prices north of the border have led to gas stations across the Point fully reopening to accommodate Canadians coming for cheaper gas. The same revitalization has not extended to other businesses in the area, however. The last functional restaurant, the Saltwater Café, is still sporadically closed or operating reduced hours. Only one bank remains open. Many other businesses are still operating at reduced capacity, facing economic hardship or out of operation after being cut off from Vancouver ― the third-largest market in Canada, for nearly two years, and many properties have been put up for sale. While the increased business for the gas stations is a positive sign for the Point's economic recovery, it still has a long way to go before it returns to its pre-pandemic state.

• 48.9856 -123.0659 1 International Marketplace , 480 Tyee Drive , ☏ +1 360 945-0237 . Full-service grocer, across the street from the US post office. The only place to buy food on Point Roberts, now that the restaurants are closed. ( updated Jun 2021 )

Eat [ edit ]

• 48.9841 -123.0818 1 Saltwater Café , 1345 Gulf Road , ☏ +1 360 945-SALT (7258) . Th-Su 8AM-4PM . ( updated Jul 2021 )
• 48.987399 -123.068717 2 The Shell Center , 423 Tyee Dr , ☏ +1 360 945-2454 . 8AM-7PM daily . Breakfast, pizza, ice cream, baked goods, coffee, wine and beer, gourmet sandwiches. Eat-in and takeout. (Sales of alcohol and prepared food are suspended due to change in ownership requiring new licensing.) ( updated Mar 2022 )
• 48.98458 -123.08351 3 Kiniski's Reef Tavern , 1334 Gulf Road , ☏ +1 360-945-4042 . M Tu Th F 4-8PM, Sa Su Noon-8PM (closed W) . Burgers, sandwiches, clam chowder, pub food. ( updated Jun 2023 )

Drink [ edit ]

There was one bar, Kiniski's Reef, owned by retired professional wrestler Nick Kiniski. As of Dec 2022, it appears to be operating limited hours on weekends only.

• 48.98459 -123.08345 1 Kiniski's Reef , 1334 Gulf Rd , ☏ +1 360-945-4042 . F 4-8PM, Sa Su noon-8PM . ( updated Jan 2023 )

Sleep [ edit ]

• 48.997758 -123.037785 1 Maple Meadows Inn , 101 Goodman Rd , ☏ +1 360 945-5536 , fax : +1 360 945-2542 . Check-in: 3PM , check-out: 11AM . Wi-fi, fridge, microwave, breakfast room service, deck/patio. $145 May 15-Oct 15; $125 Oct 15-May 15 . ( updated Oct 2016 )

Cope [ edit ]

There is no doctor, dentist or pharmacist on Point Roberts.

• 48.98884 -123.044 3 Point Roberts Hospital District , 2030 Benson Rd , ☏ +1 360-945-2580 . A small clinic with a nurse practitioner available three days per week. ( updated Mar 2023 ) It is located next to the Whatcom 5 fire hall .

Connect [ edit ]

News [ edit ].

• All Point Bulletin , ☏ +1 360-332-1777 . Their one local news site. ( updated Apr 2023 )

Wireless Services [ edit ]

Verizon is the only US carrier to place a cell site in the area. Plans with other US carriers may not work, or may require an additional roaming add-on. Any plan with Canadian coverage (on any of Rogers, Telus/Bell, Freedom) will likely function in Point Roberts as it does in Canada. This means that some US subscribers will incur additional fees to roam onto the Canadian network, including paying roaming rates for what should be domestic calls.

Mail [ edit ]

• 48.985 -123.06858 4 United States Postal Service ( USPS ), 1582 Gulf Rd ( At Gulf Rd and Tyee Dr ). The only post office in Point Roberts. It rents far more boxes to Canadian residents than to locals. ( updated Mar 2023 )

In addition, several "parcel shops" provide commercial mail receiving service for mail-order purchases.

Go next [ edit ]

• Immediately north of the international border is Delta

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THE 10 BEST Things to Do in Point Roberts

Things to do in point roberts, tours near point roberts.

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Top attractions in point roberts.

Other Top Attractions around Point Roberts

What travellers are saying

Point Roberts Washington – it’s harder to get to than you think!

by Dan Miller | Mar 7, 2023 | all , family travel , maps | 31 comments

Point Roberts Washington is only accessible on land by crossing into Canada and then back into the United States.  While on my recent trip to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, I took a trip up to visit Point Roberts Washington

Getting to Point Roberts Washington

If you’re coming from Seattle or the rest of the continental United States by car, a round trip to Point Roberts Washington will have you crossing the US / Canadian border 4 times.  You can also get to Point Roberts Washington by crossing Boundary Bay by sea or air.  There is a small airport and a marina, though no scheduled commercial air service nor scheduled ferry service.

I visited back in 2016 – I drove up on I-5, crossed the border on to BC-99 then went west on BC-17 to 56th street, which goes south directly to Point Roberts Washington.  No “Global Entry” here, though I am glad I don’t live at one of these houses

It was about a 15 minute wait to cross the border – though Nexus cardholders get their own special lane.

(SEE ALSO: Do you need a passport to go to Canada? ) 

Navigating around Point Roberts Washington

It’s not that hard – Point Roberts Washington is only about 5 square miles 🙂  There is only one Point Roberts border crossing, and if you stay on that road (Marine Road), it loops around most of Point Roberts.  I briefly visited Point Roberts Lighthouse Marine Park, which is on the southwest of Point Roberts, before realizing that was not where I wanted to be.  Continuing north on Marine Road brought me to Point Roberts Monument Park, where I spent a bit of time, before heading back over the border into Canada.  On my way back, I went east on Gulf Road near the Point Roberts post office

If you’re just heading to the Point Roberts Monument Park, there looks like there is a way to cut through a neighborhood and go on Roosevelt Way paralleling the border directly to the park.

Exploring Point Roberts Monument Park

In the northwest corner of Point Roberts lies Point Roberts Monument Park.

Point Roberts Monument Park has… (wait for it…) a monument!  It was erected in 1846 to commemorate the westernmost boundary marker between the United States and Canada

The monument supposedly marks the exact 49th parallel (and thus the border), though you are free to walk all around the monument.  I am not sure if that “counts” as being in the US and Canada at the same point, but I totally did it.  The house that you can barely see to the right of the picture is in Canada, and you can see the hedges and fence that is a more visible sign of the border.

They really don’t want you to cross the border here

Just on the other side of the parking lot, you can see the road on the Canada side that I believe once was a valid border crossing.  Here’s what Point Roberts Monument Park looks like from Canada (don’t worry – picture taken after I had legally crossed through the border crossing back into Canada)

You can see the parking lot for Point Roberts Monument Park, and the park and the actual monument are off to the right

Hiking down to the Point Roberts Washington boundary beach

From Monument Park you can take a trail down to the beach.  The trailhead is right off of the parking lot near the Point Roberts Monument Park sign.

The trail down to the beach is rocky and has several switchbacks.  It’s passable but I would recommend caution if you’re unsteady on your feet or have small kids

Again, there is no actual fence or border controls, though I would not recommend crossing the border this way.  The actual boundary marker is on a white rock about near those logs in the above picture – here I am, standing on the border rock.

When you’re ready to go back up to Point Roberts Monument Park, the trailhead back up is marked

What to do in Point Roberts Washington?

Wait, did you miss the part where I mentioned that Point Roberts is only 5 square miles? 🙂

Besides the marina, and Point Roberts Monument Park, I did notice a diner at the corner of Marine Road and Gulf Road.  If you want anything more than that, you’re best to head back over the border to Canada and get something in Delta

Had a great time in Point Roberts Washington, but as I told the border patrol officer on my way back “Had a good time but I’m unlikely to ever go back!”

Have you ever been to Point Roberts Washington?  What did you think?

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More from points with a crew, 31 comments.

You made it! I must say, your trip was much more interesting than mine, I never knew about the Monument Park, I wish we had stopped there. Did you find the border guards were friendlier at Point Roberts than at the Blaine crossing?

I found all 4 border guards to be about the same – fairly bemused as to what exactly I was doing 🙂 Each border crossing to Point Roberts and back took about 15 minutes

how was the wait at the Peace Arch? That crossing can get crazy.

About 15 or 20 mins. Going northbound, there were signs that you could get off the highway to an alternate border crossing that had minimal delays, but I didn’t go for that

the other crossing is the truck crossing, also open to cars. If you want duty free going into Canada you need to go to this crossing. I have found that the lines usually seemed to move faster at this crossing.

what a waste of time

What, specifically, did you find to be a waste of time?

1. My going to Point Roberts Washington?

2. My writing about my trip?

3. Your reading my writeup, with the VERY deceptive title of “Point Roberts Washington”?

4. Your bothering to comment on the post?

5. My bothering to reply to your comment?

Depending on which of the 5, I might agree with you!

Maybe he thought your trip was rather lame. Perhaps, in his view, if you aren’t always flying to the Maldives in Etihad’s First Apartment, your trips don’t measure up to the standards set by other bloggers.

Maybe they could put up some of those awesome signs along the Mexican border also. This might limit illegal crossings there as well 🙂

Yes! They were definitely a HUGE deterrent 🙂

Apparently, there are no high schools in Point Roberts, so kids there have to cross the border 8 times a Day to go to school.

Why eight? Why not four? Twice on the way to school, twice on the way home. Surely they don’t go home for lunch.

There is a hike in Bellingham we like to do. You climb really high and it is a beautiful view and always fun to look over to that small bit of land and say “Look, there’s, Canada”!

I grew up in Tsawassen (border town on the Canadian side). I have been to “The Point” hundreds of time for cheaper gas. US Gas is almost $1.20 per gallon cheaper than Canadian prices due to the tax structure.

Although a sleepy hollow, they did have murder suspects on the run from the law in the USA cross into Canada here:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/fugitive-jenkins-found-hanged-in-b-c-motel-1.788536

Nice! I didn’t notice the difference in gas prices, though I did see that the gas in the US was still on the Canadian price structure (per liter)

Very interesting story, I did visit seattle but should have checked this out!

I always found Pt Roberts, and that tiny part of “the longest undefended border in the world,” to be an interesting place. Good to see that there’s still nothing in the way of border fortifications.

There may not be much to do there, these days, but going back quite a few years (I won’t say how many), “the Point” used to be the place to go for a beer and great music on Sundays (back when the Canadian bars and taverns had very limited hours on Sundays). The parking lot of the “the Breakers” tavern (now long closed) and “the Reef” tavern were full of “British Columbia” license plates. These days, it’s a nice, quiet place for a small number of permanent residents, weekend homes for Canadians, and also a convenient and cheaper place to live for a few dual Canada-US citizens who work in Vancouver.

Glad you got there, if only for a few minutes!

You better watch it or our Republican candidate WILL be putting up a big fence and having Mexico-oops I mean Canada-pay for it. 🙂

Way to bring politics into this conversation. Now go back down to your basement and play video games.

What about going by boat? 🙂

Going by boat (or plane) IS an option!

Is it possible to get to Point Roberts from Seattle by public transportation?

I don’t think so – it’s at least a 2 hour drive from Seattle, and I don’t believe there is any scheduled ferry service at this time

May I have your permission to use one of your photos in a Wikipedia entry on monuments along the 49th parallel?

The signs all seem to indicate that coming into Point Roberts is a crime, but can you just drive into Canada?

Just sell/give it to Canada.

Interesting article. Never knew there is a portion of Washington when I crossed the border into Canada. Maybe next time I’ll take a side trip to visit Point Roberts. Thank you.

I find oddities like this so fascinating. Thanks for sharing this!

I was a reef netter for six summers at Point Roberts . Our skiff was at the bottom of that trail to monument park and I went up and down that trail every day during the season. I lived in a cabin on South beach.

Living in Pt Roberts was definitely easier pre-911. Back then, the sole gas station was always busy with Canadians filling up on US-priced gas.

During the time of COVID border restrictions I seem to recall a part of the US only accessible via Canada was in a world of hurt. This must be the place.

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Depart Bellingham to Pt. Roberts:  8:30 am, 1:30 pm Depart Pt. Roberts to Bellingham : 9:30 am, 2:30 pm

Point Roberts is locally know as   “Point Bob”, or “The Point” and is located in Whatcom County.  Yes, in the USA!   Point Roberts is a part of the mainland United States but is not physically connected to it.  It is located on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen Peninsula, 22 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia.  You can only get to Point Roberts by land from the rest of the United States via traveling 23 miles through Canada.

Of course, Point Roberts can be reached directly from the rest of Washington and the U.S. by crossing Boundary Bay with a scheduled flight to Point Roberts on San Juan Airlines!

Point Roberts Marina provides boaters with the perfect location to discover the San Juan Islands (13 miles), the Canadian Gulf Islands (10 miles), World Class Golf (2 miles), and private airport (1 mile). An anomaly of politics and geography, Point Roberts, has saltwater on three sides and a land bridge to the north connecting to Canada.

Point Roberts is a great place to get away, and still be just minutes from the heart of Vancouver!  Check out all of the great things to do in Point Roberts and request a flight to Point Roberts !

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Your Welcome To Point Roberts!

This is an international border, so it may not be a "friendly", welcoming experience., passports, nexus cards or enhanced driver's licenses are required to enter point roberts, wa by land., the point roberts marina has slips for visitors, and us customs will come to the dock to clear international visitors..

Both the US and Canada have regulations and restrictions on what agricultural products and items are allowed to cross the border in either direction. Plants, citrus fruits, stone fruits and meats are the usual suspects. The good news? Our grocery store in Point Roberts is very large for a community this size and carries a wide selection of produce and has a large meat and dairy department!

Approximate Current Border Wait Coming Into Point Roberts And Blaine From Canada

Click Here for Incoming Wait Times (No cameras)

Note: This crossing is listed as one of the Blaine, WA crossings.

The Point Roberts Border Crossing is the 5th busiest US/Canada crossing! Lines can be long, especially during Summer holiday weekends.

Phone Numbers For Border Offices

The US Customs # at Point Roberts is 1(360) 945-2314

The Canadian Customs # at Point Roberts is 1(604) 943-2722

You may like the Border Buddy app. It is available for iOS and Android.

Approximate Current Border Wait Leaving Point Roberts

Click Here for Outgoing Wait Times (No cameras)

Note: This crossing is listed as the Boundary Bay crossing.

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Fewer Canadians are crossing the border to visit Point Roberts

The decline has some locals in the u.s. exclave wondering if cross-border travel habits have permanently changed since the pandemic., by: tom banse - may 20, 2024 3:30 pm.

Canadian boat owners are returning to the marina in Point Roberts, Washington, where the pandemic recovery is being held back by labor shortages. (Tom Banse)

This article was first published by the Salish Current .

Few places in the Pacific Northwest were more disrupted by the pandemic than Point Roberts. The extended closure of the U.S.-Canada border to nonessential crossings cut off peninsular Point Roberts, an exclave, from the U.S. mainland. While life has returned to normal for most of us, the rebound is still tenuous in Washington’s most fascinating border town.

Canada and the U.S. closed their land border to nonessential crossings for 19 months during 2020-2021. COVID-19 contact tracing and proof-of-vaccination requirements were gradually eased both ways thereafter, with the last restrictions lifted as of October 2022.

“When all of that happened my biggest worry was, will these restrictions be in place long enough that people will change their consumer habits? And I think they have,” said Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University.

Trautman said the number of people counted coming into the U.S. in personal vehicles at Whatcom County’s five land border crossings was down about 25% in 2023 compared to the pre-pandemic baseline of 2019. Crossings from Canada into Point Roberts lagged even more, down 32%. 

The most recent inbound crossing data released for February and March of this year showed a bit of improvement over the same period last year, but the recovery, if that is what it is, is slow. The currency exchange rate, which can depress or spur cross-border shopping trips, is close to the same today as in May 2019.

“Ninety percent of Point Roberts’ economy is Canadian driven,” said local Chamber of Commerce President Brian Calder. “A significant number of them are finished with Point Roberts. They’ve made alternative plans and now we’ve broken their habit.”

For an unincorporated place surrounded by saltwater on three sides and with only about 1,100 permanent residents, Point Roberts has an unusual profusion of gas stations and parcel pickup stores. These cater to Canadian daytrippers who duck across the border to buy cheaper gas, milk and alcohol and get free shipping on purchases from American e-commerce sites. Many beach houses are owned by British Columbians and the Point Roberts marina serves the Metro Vancouver market too.

A visitor from the U.S. mainland might initially be startled by what seem to be 1970s-era gasoline prices at the petrol stations, until closer inspection reveals that fuel prices here are advertised in liters. At the grocery store on the main drag, the registers have dual cash drawers to accept Canadian or U.S. money. The Vancouver suburb of Tsawwassen presses right up against the boundary line, while the rest of Washington state is a 30- to 40-minute drive away through Canada via two international border crossings – unless you own a private boat or plane.

Calder said the border hassles and geographical isolation from the U.S. mainland drove service workers to leave the five-square-mile peninsula during the pandemic lockdown, “and they’re not coming back.” The Chamber of Commerce president commissioned jailhouse orange T-shirts emblazoned with “Inmate” during the depths of the pandemic. Calder’s current customized Point Roberts T-shirt sends a message about the present business dilemmas with the slogan, “Forgotten… but not gone.”

The only grocery store, a closed golf course and a popular tavern

Ali Hayton owns the only supermarket in Point Roberts. Her business was so vital to the isolated exclave during the pandemic that Gov. Jay Inslee dipped into the state’s strategic reserves to help the store stay open in 2021. Hayton said her store’s hours continue to be limited today compared to pre-pandemic times because of reduced foot traffic and difficulty recruiting additional staff. 

“It’s kind of a chicken and an egg thing ,” Hayton said. “ If we’re open more, would more people come down? But if the border traffic is not there, it’s not worth continuing” to go back to the way it was.

People can’t rush down to buy a Washington Lotto or big Powerball jackpot ticket when the supermarket closes early, Hayton observed. She said Point Roberts used to have more things to do to draw people across the border. Reopening the golf course would be a good start.

Speaking of which, the privately owned 18-hole golf course received a cash injection from a new investor and is taking steps to reopen, according to course superintendent Rick Hoole.

“It’s a great golf course, you can’t beat that,” Hoole said, before adding a critical caveat. “But it’s Point Roberts. It’s very difficult right now.”

“It’s just me and a trio of retired guys right now. We’re trying to find help.”

Hoole said in order to open this summer, his team will need to triple the existing skeleton staff. As they recruit, they are confronting the same labor shortages and extreme scarcity of rental housing that beset other Northwest destination getaways. Hoole said the owners of the rebranded Point Roberts Golf and Country Club are now considering supplying employee housing to attract new hires.

The longtime proprietor of Kiniski’s Reef Tavern similarly landed on the solution this year of packaging a summer job with employer-provided trailer housing after trying pretty much everything else, including appealing directly to his Congressman last year for foreign worker visa leniency. Nick Kiniski said this might be his last summer at the helm, as he’s getting ready to retire and just listed his waterfront bar and restaurant for sale. He said he still believes Point Roberts has potential.

“I always thought it’s going to pop one day and go nuts,” Kiniski said in an interview. “It has gone up and down. But I mean 25 years ago I was offered more than I’ll get [now]. That’s kinda weird.”

Sitting on the establishment’s sunny, bustling patio overlooking the Strait of Georgia on a recent evening, he fondly remembered the business’ heyday decades ago when he had to hire scads of bouncers and off-duty sheriff’s deputies to control thousands of revelers who would cross the border on weekends to drink, dance, gamble and listen to bands.

“Obviously financially, I miss those times,” the extroverted bar owner said. “But I could not deal if you brought that business back, there’s no way. Where would I get 120 staff?”

Kiniski recalled that he could easily hire Canadian young people from the nearby suburbs of Tsawwassen, Delta and Ladner in the 1990s. An immigration clampdown that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 closed that door for border businesses.

“It’s a lot mellower,” Kiniski said on the cusp of this summer season. “I don’t need the 28 doormen and four sheriffs around anymore.”

“You can bitch about the border, but really, Point Roberts has been good to me. You know, it’s unique,” he reflected.

At the 900-slip Point Roberts marina, a cheerful sign reads, “Welcome back boaters.” A marina clerk estimated that 85% of the slips will be occupied by this summer, which represents a big rebound from the ghost town depths of the pandemic when the majority-Canadian clientele could not come.

Liking the mellower pace

Some residents appreciated the quieter pace of life that the pandemic wrought in semi-rural Point Roberts and don’t want to return to the go-go border flows of pre-pandemic times. The community includes a higher-than-average percentage of retirees. The pushback to business boosterism is not organized, nor does it have a prominent spokesperson. But the sentiment emerged strongly in a recent project to collect COVID-19 stories from border communities led by Border Policy Research Institute postdoctoral fellow Andréanne Bissonnette.

“Not having thousands of people cross each week for their cheap fuel or parcels was actually a blessing. Peace and quiet here was wonderful,” said a Point Roberts small business operator who contributed a comment that was anonymized in the forthcoming research report.  

“I enjoyed the quiet in Point Roberts and observing the birds, coyotes and other wildlife thriving,” said a parent with children who were allowed to roam more freely. “It is amazing what a benefit the border closure was to the population of birds in my yard.”

Point Roberts is a peninsula located south of Vancouver, British Columbia. It extends from Canada, below the 49th parallel, which delineates the northern border of the U.S., making the small piece of land part of Washington state.

Some aspects of the local economy, notably real estate, held up during the pandemic and are still going steady. Next, several upcoming infrastructure initiatives could lay the groundwork for denser development or new businesses.

A nearly $12 million federal broadband grant awarded to Whidbey Telecom included funding to build an undersea fiber cable between Point Roberts and Whidbey Island. That promises to offer higher speeds and higher capacity internet service in a few years to the peninsula where broadband speeds currently can be sluggish.

Another major project, merely under discussion at this point, would stretch a sewer line across the border from the City of Delta, British Columbia, into Point Roberts. Septic systems are de rigueur for buildings in Point Roberts, but that limits future development options and has environmental drawbacks.

Indefatigable Point Roberts Chamber President Calder continues to promote the idea of a blanket exemption or temporary non-immigrant work visa that would allow local businesses to hire Canadians for seasonal service jobs. Last summer, Calder and several of the community’s bigger employers got the attention of U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen and Sen. Patty Murray.

“Point Roberts faces unique hurdles given its geography when it comes to recruiting workers, and I support common-sense efforts to help folks in Point Roberts more easily hire people from just across the border in Canada to keep their businesses afloat,” Murray said in a statement last week.

Murray’s staff previously made inquiries with the Department of Homeland Security on behalf of Point Roberts constituents. The upshot was that local businesses were encouraged to apply individually to the H-2B program, which allows qualifying employers to hire temporary foreign workers for nonagricultural jobs.

Supermarket owner Hayton prepared an H-2B visa application, but was unsuccessful and found the whole process to be befuddling.

“It just kept being kicked back by Homeland Security for one thing or another. After 10 hours, I gave up,” Hayton said.

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.

Correspondent Tom Banse is an Olympia-based reporter with more than three decades of experience covering Washington and Oregon state government, public policy, business and breaking news stories. Most of his career was spent with public radio's Northwest News Network, but now in semi-retirement his work is appearing on other outlets.

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