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A day at Point Roberts

Point Roberts is a weird place. 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 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 the US and CAD dollars

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

A hike at Lily Point Marine Reserve

The visit to the 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, grasslands 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 needs the multi-entry U.S. as well as multi-entry Canadian visa to enter, exit, and re-enter Canada and the U.S.

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