Point Roberts
Miniature bliss

Getting There: Follow directions to 56th Street in Tsawwassen. Follow 56th Street south to the U.S. border.

Compact (just 4.9 square miles), lightly populated (just a tad over 1,200 permanent residents) and somewhat isolated (no doctors or dentists), Point Roberts is a quirky kind of place that has attracted people from all over the world and hasn’t let them go. One well-known local artist calls it the vortex effect. If it happens to you, well, you’ll know what he means.

The Point hangs down from British Columbia and is about three miles wide by two miles long. Much of the central portion is covered by forest with clearings on the beaches that ring the peninsula. On the east are the warm waters of Boundary Bay with its extensive sand flats while the south and west is bounded by Strait of Georgia. Immediately north of the border is Tsawwassen.

The original visitors, Coast Salish Indians, called Point Roberts Cheltenum. They typically rowed over from the mainland during the summer to take advantage of the bounty of the sea. Take a drive, walk or bike in the Maple Beach area. It is a great place for a warm swim.

The first European explorer, Spanish captain Juan Francisco la Bodegay Quadra came through in 1775 and called it Punta Zapeda. In 1792, Captain George Vancouver sailed by and named it Point Roberts after his friend and colleague, Henry Roberts. Recent research strongly suggests that in the late 1500s Sir Francis Drake voyaged through Washington, British Columbia and Alaska on his search for the Northwest passage. He didn’t name it but he described Point Roberts as “beautiful bay.” Local lore holds that there used to be a plate marker on the west side of the point indicating Drake’s passage up the coast.

If you’ve timed it right, you’ll catch what the locals call the ‘Orca show.’ Point Roberts is home to two pods of killer whales who are often seen as close as 10 feet off the beach when salmon is running. There is also a ‘false killer whale’ that shows up – kids on the dock have actually stroked its back as it swims by. Check with the Lighthouse Park but the whales usually show up around 3 or 4 p.m.

If you’ve got the stamina, pack up a lunch and walk from Maple Beach around to the Lighthouse Park. Maple Beach’s nearly one mile of sand flats makes for great crabbing and clamming and allegedly boasts the warmest water north of California (it can get close to 80 degrees in the late afternoon when the tide comes in). Lily Point is the halfway mark and makes a great place to stop for lunch, a swim or just plain relaxing. It has just been declared a county park.

Keep an eye out for eagles – there are a number of perches and it’s not uncommon to see as many as 10-15 eagles at a time. The beach is pebbly at high tide so wear sneakers at a minimum if that’s the time you go. Check the tide tables on page 19. While you can make it around at high tide, it’s easier and more interesting when the tide is on the way out.

Once you’ve reached the 1,000-slip marina (which offers a restaurant, chandlery, repair services, haulouts, guest moorage and 24-hour refueling), you walk along Edwards Drive on a grassy trail until you get to Lighthouse Marine Park. The park’s boat launch is also a good place to launch your boat or kayak and the floating dock is a favorite place to fish for bullheads and salmon.

Don’t miss:
• A walk in Point Roberts’ newest park, Lily Point
• The Annual Arts & Music Festival at Lighthouse Park.