More than a year after Trump took office, tourists still haven't returned to Point Roberts

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

POINT ROBERTS — Rows of colorful rubber ducks stare out from the shelves of a small store tucked inside a mall in British Columbia, looking startled with wide eyes and open beaks.

The Rubber Duck Museum, not long ago an attraction in the American exclave Point Roberts, is now a destination for Canadian visitors after closing its Point Roberts location after closing and then reopening in Tsawwassen, B.C. in December. Glass cases display icons in toy duck history, including a cloth mallard on wheels from 1911, as joyful shrieks float in from a next-door children’s play center.

The cheerful storefront feels like a reprieve from the outside world. But for owners Neil and Krystal King, the past year has been fraught with challenges.

Around the same time they moved the duck museum, they closed down their adjoining specialty store, Kora’s Corner, in Point Roberts. They were facing a steep downturn in sales, overhead increases in part due to tariffs and a dramatic rent hike.

The Kings are among the business owners in Point Roberts who are having to adjust after a decline in Canadian tourists, which some attribute to political tensions with the United States. Several said traffic to their business has not improved since last year.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2026/04/13/more-than-a-year-after-trump-took-office-tourists-still-havent-returned-to-point-roberts/

[Lifeafter70]

1. Years ago we took our first trip to Canada.

While we were in Vancouver we took a day trip to Point Roberts. Whomever drew those property lines must have been high.
In order to get to Point Roberts you have to go through Canada or take a ferry.

Population was declining when we were there and the orange one has made it worse.

It is a beautiful place.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

2. 49th parallel was decided as the border back in the 19th century

That's why the tip of the peninsula is in the US. The exception of course is Vancouver Island and the San Juan Islands where the border dips down.

Still there was a bit of a dispute between the US and Britain which was known as the Pig War. The only casualty was a pig.

[Lifeafter70]

3. Yep I did know why

Just think it wasn't well planned out due to the difficulty of getting there. Talked to a few locals and just the difficulty of getting groceries was a pain in the but. Most of them shopped in Canada.

On a side note I spent a lot of time in Washington (Aberdeen and Seattle) taking my son to doc appointments at Hutchinson and Harborview Hospitals. Washington is a beautiful state.