Over 175 years ago, this U.S. town was left behind in Canada. Here’s what it’s like to live there now

A British Columbia ferry is seen from the isolated community of Point Roberts, Washington. (Jennifer Gauthier/Reuters via CNN Newsource)

“When you cross the border and turn onto the main street, you’re immediately surrounded by trees. You take a deep breath and feel a sense of relief — like, ‘Gosh, I’m home,‘” says Hannah Shucard, who grew up in Point Roberts, a 4.9-square-mile peninsula in Washington state.

Then there’s the pitch-dark, quiet nights. No traffic lights, no sirens, no city hum — just star-filled skies and the sounds of nature.

“In spring, the frogs are really loud, and at certain times of the year, you can hear the coyotes howling,” she adds.

It’s quiet, clean, safe — a place where people leave their keys in their cars and kids ride their bikes to the beach or play in the woods. Almost like a cross between a small town and a nature preserve.

Idyllic, for sure, but there’s a catch: Point Roberts is a “pene-exclave” — a piece of land belonging to one country but only accessible by land through another.

Anchoring the southern tip of the Tsawwassen Peninsula, the 1,200-person American town is bordered by Canada to the north and surrounded by water on three sides.

While this unique geography presents day-to-day logistical challenges and the community is feeling the tensions right now of tariffs and anti-U.S. sentiment, some residents say it’s a worthwhile trade-off for the point’s sense of safety, natural beauty and slow-paced lifestyle.

A geographic anomaly

It’s natural to wonder why Point Roberts isn’t part of Canada, given it’s physically disconnected from the rest of the US.

The answer dates back to 1846, when the Oregon Treaty established the 49th parallel as the border between Canada and the United States, cutting off this little thimble of land.

Some say it was an oversight, while others argue the U.S. kept the peninsula to ensure access to the Pacific Northwest and the area’s valuable fishing waters.

By the late 1800s, Icelandic settlers arrived, working in salmon canneries and on farms. Many residents, including Shucard, trace their ancestry to these early homesteaders.

“My grandma’s family was Icelandic and settled here long ago,” says Shucard. “She still lives in a house my grandpa built on the original family homestead and speaks Icelandic, as do a few of her friends.”

Shucard has very fond memories of growing up on the point.

She describes a childhood filled with family, nature and animals — her aunts, uncles and cousins lived nearby, and they even rode horses to school from time to time.

“My childhood was magical,” says Shucard. “We spent so much time outside building forts, exploring the beach, hiking forest trails. It’s the kind of small town where everyone knows each other.”

Though she moved away for early college courses and then to pursue a career in Seattle, Shucard stayed closely connected to her family in Point Roberts.

She never expected to move home, but the pandemic changed that. When the US-Canada border closed, visiting her elderly grandparents in Point Roberts became nearly impossible.

“Before COVID, we came once a month to help out,” she says. “When the border closed, that was really hard.”

So when her job as a research coordinator at the University of Washington shifted online, Shucard and her husband moved back to Point Roberts in October 2021 to help her family.

“My grandma turns 95 next month — we make her dinner twice a week and help around the house,” she says. “It’s been really special to spend this time together.”

Trading city life for safety and stability

Neil and Krystal King also moved to Point Roberts during the pandemic.

In 2020, as COVID-19 upended their lives in Portland, Neil lost his job as a restaurant manager and battled long-COVID, while Krystal had to pause her in-home behavioral therapy work to protect his health.

Drawn to Point Roberts’ isolation, they went for a visit. But while they were away, their home caught fire.

“We knew we wanted to start a family. And then we had the fire happen, and we lost two pets and everything else, and we just really wanted to feel safe and stable,” says Krystal.

In March 2021, they packed a U-Haul and moved to Point Roberts.

Four years in, the peninsula has more than met their expectations.

“As soon as you cross the border, it feels like you stepped back 40 years in time,” says Krystal. “It’s just slow and nice. It’s quiet. It’s such a safe little place.”

While pregnant with their first child, the Kings purchased an existing corner store and renamed it Kora’s Corner Country Store after their daughter, who was born just eight weeks before opening.

A local mainstay, the shop sells penny candy, novelty items, local art, toys and Point Roberts souvenirs that the couple designed themselves.

At the back of the store, visitors will find a Rubber Duck Museum.

A playful addition set up by the Kings, the museum has thousands of ducks, including 30 rare artifacts dating back to 1911.

For the Kings, the real joy has been watching their 3-year-old daughter, Koraline, thrive in a tight-knit community.

“Everybody knows her,” says Krystal. “She’s very social, very happy, and I credit that to (our) store and the community coming in all the time and getting to know her.”

A small but active community

There are two main roads — Tyee Drive and Gulf Road — and no stoplights in the entire town, just two flashing lights on Tyee Drive.

Nothing’s too far away, and everyone’s connected by just a degree or two.

“Back when I was in school, the librarian also drove the little school bus (and) was the janitor, as well as a family friend, because it’s such a small community,” says Kristin Lomedico, the local librarian.

Lomedico, who descended from Icelandic immigrants, also remembers a carefree childhood full of woodland adventures and family gatherings.

She moved to Seattle for college, then Central and South America, where her husband worked for international organizations like the United Nations.

In 1982, the couple returned to the peninsula with their two children to be closer to family and have a stable homebase.

“I was glad to be home. I always missed the sea, the beaches and the woods,” says Lomedico. “You know, you can get used to anything, but you do miss what you left.”

Point Roberts typically has at least one of everything — one plumber, electrician, supermarket, primary school, library, volunteer fire department and food bank.

The town is also home to a handful of locally owned restaurants — Kiniski’s Reef Tavern, the Saltwater Café and The Pier restaurant at the Point Roberts Marina Resort — plus Kora’s Corner Country Store.

Community groups and events also add to the tight-knit feeling. From gardening and walking clubs to a voter’s association, a parks board, book clubs, a ham radio club and the Historical Society, where both Shucard and Lomedico are members, it’s an active little town.

“There’s a strong sense of community,” says Shucard. “You can always find something you’re interested in.”

Nature at your doorstep

One of Point Roberts’ biggest draws is its natural beauty.

“I take the dog for a walk to the beach every morning,” says Neil. “As I walk, I hear coyotes howling and watch deer cross the street. At sunrise, eagles, hawks and finches fill the sky — it’s like living among the wildlife. I even recognize the local deer family and think, ‘Oh wow, they’ve had another baby.‘”

Living in nature is a boon for active types, who can explore a scenic bike path tracing the edges of the peninsula, hike through the evergreen forests, play pickleball or hit the greens on the point’s golf course, slated to reopen this spring.

The town is also home to four county parks — one in each corner — with each offering scenic beaches, coastal bluffs and numerous nature trails.

For swimming, Maple Beach, also known as Boundary Bay, on the eastern shore, is a favorite, thanks to its soft gray sand, stunning Mount Baker views and warm tidal pools.

“At low tide, you can walk about a mile out,” Shucard says. “And in the summer, when the tide comes in, the water is so warm from the sand being in the sun that it feels like a bathtub.”

In summer, orcas and humpback whales are commonly spotted offshore, and the best place to see them from land is the “Whale Trail” within Lighthouse Marine Park on the southwest tip.

“People who love the outdoors and a peaceful getaway love it here,” says Shucard. “We constantly see eagles and seals, especially this time of year.”

Despite its many charms, life in Point Roberts comes with everyday logistical challenges.

For many residents, monitoring exchange rates and navigating daily border crossings are simply part of life.

Families often drop children at daycare or pick up takeout from restaurants in Tsawwassen, a Canadian community across the border that’s about 10 minutes away.

“We’ll pick up sushi (from Canadian restaurants) a couple of times a month,” says Shucard. “And for a fancier dinner or a concert, we will go into Vancouver.”

Most residents make a two-hour roundtrip journey to Washington cities like Bellingham or Blaine for medical care, passing through four border checkpoints per appointment.

This reality makes it more difficult for older residents or those needing regular care to remain on the peninsula.

“It’s hard to live here as you age,” says Lomedico. “Your medical and dental care are all based in Bellingham or Blaine — you have to be able to drive there and back or have someone to help.”

Education often requires border hopping, too.

Point Roberts Primary School, with just five students enrolled for 2025, stops after second grade.

Unless they are homeschooled, which is relatively common, children either take a bus to Blaine, Washington or enroll in a Canadian private school to continue their education. There are no scheduled ferries.

“You schedule everything around border wait times,” says Neil. “We make a whole day of it — doctor’s appointments, groceries, prescriptions, errands. It’s not that bad.”

When it comes to travel, Point Roberts does have a small, single-runway airport serving U.S. and Canadian destinations via chartered Cessna flights.

However, for longer trips, most people drive 40 minutes to Vancouver International Airport.

Having an up-to-date passport is essential, and many residents also rely on their NEXUS cards — a pre-approved traveler program — to speed up border crossings.

Caught in the middle

While Point Roberts has long depended on Canadian visitors to fuel its economy, recent U.S.-Canada tensions have put local businesses at risk.

“It’s a hard place to live because there’s no real industry except for tourism and cross-border shopping — Canadians coming down to buy things like gas and groceries,” says Lomedico. “And with tariffs, everything feels up in the air right now.”

The town also relies on Canada for electricity and water, and there’s long been a sense that Canadians are part of the community.

Many residents hold dual citizenship, celebrate both American and Canadian holidays, and often fly the maple leaf and stars and stripes side by side.

“Canada Day is July 1, so we put up red decorations, maple leaves and flags — everyone does,” says Krystal. “Then, on the 4th of July, Canadians come for our biggest day of the year. The main street fills up for a local parade that’s been going on forever.”

But as anti-U.S. sentiment rises in Canada, many Canadian tourists are boycotting U.S. destinations, including Point Roberts.

“We’ve already received letters from vendors saying that costs are going up for American retailers,‘” says Krystal.

“We’ve also received letters from regulars saying, ‘I’m so sorry you guys are going to be caught up in this, but I cannot cross the border anymore. It’s important that Canadians stand together right now.‘”

With escalating tariff threats and uncertainty around Canadian visitors during peak season, local businesses are on edge, she says.

“How long will tariffs last? Will this pass? People are really nervous,” says Krystal. “But no one’s throwing in the towel. Right now, everyone’s just holding their breath, waiting to see what the next few months bring.”

Written by Kate Springer, CNN