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This Tiny Sliver of Washington State Is One of the Oddest Places You’ll Ever Stay
Tiny Point Roberts, all 4.8 square miles of it, hangs like an appendix off Canada’s British Columbia just 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Vancouver, so attached to the rest of that country that you’d swear it is or should obviously be part of our northern neighbor.
If not for a fluke of measurement nearly two centuries ago, Point Roberts would be. But it isn’t. It wound up as one of the oddest points of land in Washington State, in the United States, that you’ll ever visit. There are only perhaps three other equivalents along the 5,500-mile land border with Canada. For that reason alone, it’s worth an overnight stay, if only to say you’ve been to the westernmost point of the mainland border between the two countries, or to get quick ferry passage to Vancouver Island.
Here’s how this little tip of land featured in news reports, especially these days, gets along. It’s entirely dependent on its water, power, food, and about every other amenity, from Canada.
Here’s Point Roberts by the numbers. The few gas stations list prices in both liters and gallons. There are three restaurants, two campgrounds, and one grocery store. More than a few of its 1,100 residents fly a composite flag with both United States and Canadian colors.
One can only describe the customs station, with the U.S. on one side and Canada on the other, as quaint. When we visited, we were the only vehicle. We were basically waved right through U.S. Customs one afternoon, and the same thing happened on our way back to Canada Customs the next morning, allowing us to catch the B.C. Ferries ship from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
How did it get to be a lonely little piece of the U.S, dangling from Canada? Basically, someone goofed. It was inadvertently created when the border between the U.S. and Canada was drawn in 1846.
It all started when someone in the U.S. Congress claimed that it and more territory should be part of the U.S., crying the phrase “54-40 or Fight.” Someone with “manifest destiny” fever was telling Great Britain, “Give us the land or we’ll take it.” That spat was finally amicably settled when both countries agreed on the 49th parallel as the official border. It wasn’t until later that someone saw what that did to Point Roberts. It left this tiny spit of land sticking into the Strait of Georgia, smack in Canadian territory, as part of the United States, and the only way most could get here was through Canada.
There were a couple of attempts to fix it, but no one’s ever bothered to follow through. Hence, Point Roberts was born in Whatcom County, Washington, which has been a curious speck of the U.S. surrounded by Canada ever since. If you’re going to Vancouver Island as we were in our 2023 Wonder Murphy Bed Lounge, Lucky Us Too in 2024, it’s an excellent jumping off point, just to say we did.
How’d we stumble on it? We needed an overnight stay before hopping on the ferry to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island to see our granddaughter, Leonie, and her parents, my daughter Sonja and her husband, Robin. Then, we took Leonie on a week-long exploration of the island. We’ll detail that trip later, but since this was our second trip here, here’s a link to our earlier story so you can plan your trip here.
There are two campgrounds, the privately operated Sunny Point RV Park and the county-run Lighthouse Point Marine Park on the water. Book Lighthouse Point online, and book Sunny Point in person. You’ll share its sparse amenities with permanent residents.
There are also three other county parks in Point Roberts. Lilly Point Marine Park features more shore access. Maple Beach has a chilly tidal beach, and Monument Park, where stands Point Roberts’ version of the similar marker at Key West, Florida: Marker No. 1, erected in 1861, marking the first notation of this part of the U.S.-Canada border.
You can also overnight at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal and the nearby Walmart on the Canadian side, but that won’t get you into Point Roberts to sit in the Salt Water Café, Kiniskis’ Reef Tavern, or The Pier restaurants, or even the scenic spot called Two White Lawn Chairs, because, well, there are two white lawn chairs there, plus a couple more unique attractions you’ll ever encounter, besides that Marker No. 1.
Rubber Ducky, You’re the One
Stop by Kora’s Corner to pick up souvenirs, including mugs, T-shirts, and sweatshirts. Then step into the back room, to see the only known museum devoted to—the rubber duck.
Yes, rubber ducks, said husband-wife owners Neil and Krystal King. King said they started the museum to attract more tourists, and if quirky roadside attractions are your thing, you’ve got to stop. Because it’ll quack you up. Yup, had to say it.
Their collection dates from a “wooden rubber duck” circa 1911, hard plastic models from the 1930s, 1940s rubber ducks, and vinyl models from the 1970s. Their collection also includes some rare Sieberling Disney characters like the early depictions of Donald Duck, says Neil King. While there, stock up on penny candy and nab a Point Roberts or duck sweatshirt, baseball cap, stickers, and a mug or two.
Afterwards, stroll Lighthouse Marine Park’s two miles of walking paths, head for your restaurant choice, or, like we did, scoot back across into Canada to make the short drive to the ferry back in Canada.
All part of your short stop at the enigma that is Point Roberts, Cana….er, sorry, Washington.
When You Go
Preview your stop at a couple of websites, including Whatcom County, Washington, where you’ll find, among other things, reservation information for Lighthouse Marine Park’s RV campground, Sunny Point, hiking trails where in summer you might get a peek at an orca offshore, and Monument Park at Point Roberts’ northwest corner, site of Marker No. 1.
Go to the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce, which includes a 7.7-mile scenic drive or bike ride, and those three places to eat, the Reef Tavern, Saltwater Café, and The Pier restaurant, and, of course, Kora’s Corner and its Rubber Duck Museum.
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