A day at Point Roberts

Ashish Bhatia

Level 2 Member
Point Roberts is a weird place. A 5 sq. miles (12 sq. km) U.S. exclave connected to British Columbia, Canada. As a part of the Treaty of Oregon, 1846, the territory jointly controlled by the British and the U.S. was handed over to the U.S. It later became the Washington state. The area should have been part of the British Columbia but the dividing line was chosen incorrectly due to a geographical mistake.


Point Roberts

Now, coming back to the trip. I drove from mainland Washington to Point Roberts via Canada.

The first thing I immediately noticed after crossing the immigration checkpoint is that the gas prices are listed in both USD and Canadian dollars.


Gas prices in US and CAD dollars

I did a nice one-hour hike at Lily Point Marine Reserve. It had some nice scenic views. Nothing outstanding. But worth the time.


A nice hike at Lily Point Marine Reserve

The visit to a grocery store was another fun. I wanted to buy some mangoes and raspberries to test how good is custom officer is at detecting which fruits are allowed to cross the border and which don’t but gave up on the plan fearing deportation back to Point Roberts.


Mangos can cross the border, Raspberries cannot

And now the border. Behold, there is no wall, grass lands on the left are in the U.S. and apartments on the right are in Canada.


US – Canada border

If you are heading to Vancouver or British Columbia, Point Roberts is a detour worth taking.Note: One definitely needs a multi-entry U.S. as well as multi-entry Canadian visa to enter, exit and re-enter Canada and the U.S.



Note: One definitely needs a multi-entry U.S. as well as multi-entry Canadian visa to enter, exit, and re-enter Canada and the U.S.

https://ashishb.net/all/a-day-at-point-roberts/
 

R.R.

Level 2 Member
As a Washington state resident, I enjoy the novelty of Point Roberts. I have a Canadian friend in Vancouver who occasionally visits Pt Roberts for fun too.
 

Patrickthetiger

Level 2 Member
I've read rumor that Point Roberts is desired settlement locale for people enrolled in the US Marshals Service’s Witness Security Program (aka witness protection). A high proportion of the poulation is living under assumed identies and live in the security of a community with guards at every entry point. Gangsters beware.

More here: www.citylab.com/design/2012/02/strange-existence-point-roberts-washington.
LOL... from the article...

"To deploy a somewhat crude simile, Point Roberts is like the foreskin of America; cutting it off probably would have been more convenient, but keeping it has some benefits."
 

bluecat

Level 2 Member
"The area should have been part of the British Columbia but the dividing line was chosen incorrectly due to a geographical mistake."

Where did you read that? AFAIK, the border is the 49th parallel, by design.
 
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