Sun-drenched Point Roberts has always been a favorite destination for visitors. The peace and quiet, forests, beaches, water and, above all, a friendly reception from the residents is what draws many tourists to Point Roberts. Today, about people call the Point their home year-round. Point Roberts is separated from the rest of Whatcom County and Washington state by 23 driving miles through British Columbia.
The community is about 30 minutes by car from Vancouver and a minute drive from the Tsawwassen ferry dock linking the mainland to Vancouver Island — Victoria, B. C when the border is open. We recommend visiting Lighthouse Marine Park. This includes a full-service campground, boat ramp, picnic sites and boardwalk. Orca whales sightings are common on the west side of the Point. Boating is central to the life of Point Roberts. In addition to the outdoors, there are restaurants, taverns, a new golf course, and a quaint bed and breakfast.
My Favorites. Please leave the following field blank:. Because of its geographic location, Point Roberts is only accessible from Canada — even getting its water and electricity from Canada — and Calder said the community is dying without its closest neighbours. Calder pointed to the marina, which usually has boats. More than 70 per cent of properties are owned by Canadians who have been banned from crossing the border since March of last year.
At the Shell station on Tyee Drive, co-owner Chuck Laird learned to toss pizzas to serve to hungry locals. Sylvia Schomberg, a year-old resident, played the organ at Trinity Community Lutheran Church until the pandemic shut down services. She said the stillness evoked memories of her childhood on a farm started by her grandparents, who were among the point's original Icelandic homesteaders.
As the population continued to shrink — it would eventually reach about — Neil Ingermann, the lone sheriff's deputy in Point Roberts, found himself with little to do. When he took the job in January — a transfer from Bellingham, Washington, a mile drive through Canada — he never anticipated boredom. Single and 28, Ingermann had joined a health club and a hockey league in suburban Vancouver and anticipated an active social life in the cosmopolitan city.
Now he's stuck in Point Roberts like everyone else. Lack of business did in the Breakers, a nightclub that had managed to survive even after , when British Columbia lifted its ban on Sunday alcohol sales and thousands of Canadians ended their weekly border treks to drink. Two restaurants and a wine shop closed. An art gallery and a bike shop shut, as well as a Banner Bank branch. As hundreds of boats pulled out, the point's marina went up for sale. He invited residents who helped him weed bunkers and water greens to join him for a round of golf each Tuesday.
The location saved on taxes and overhead and dodged a Canadian law that prohibited one-way rentals on cross-border trips — until the border closure. The company hired drivers to move all the vehicles to Las Vegas, getting permission to pass through Canada with other commercial traffic.
The border shutdown also dried up one of Point Roberts' niche industries: the six parcel depots that enabled Canadians to zip across the border to avoid duties and international charges on items ordered from Amazon and other US retailers.
Thousands of packages have stacked up in the warehouses. Point to Point Parcel manager Beth Calder fielded calls from customers as storage charges mounted. Washington Governor Jay Inslee wrote Trudeau the next month, suggesting that the Canadian government issue permits allowing Point Roberts residents to drive between their town and the mainland United States as long as they didn't stop in Canada.
But Canadian officials were unmoved. That October, they made exceptions for four other isolated border towns, but they spurned Point Roberts, arguing that its residents "can access the necessities of life within their own community. That was largely because the International Marketplace, the only grocery store in Point Roberts, remained open.
The owner, Ali Hayton, said she couldn't bear to close the store, built big enough to handle Canadian customers a week, despite losing tens of thousands of dollars a month.
As an emergency measure in August, the Port of Bellingham repurposed a dinner-cruise ship to launch a twice-a-week ferry service to Point Roberts. That process sliced the peninsula off from the rest of the U. Lesow argues there are several reasons the residents of the community may want to join their northern neighbours — chief among them, schools and hospitals.
The community is only home to a small medical clinic and an elementary school, meaning a trip to high school or hospital involves an international crossing. Even a win there would have no formal standing other than putting the idea on the table for discussion. World Canada Local. Meet the U. Full Menu Search Menu.
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