Birch Bay is a wide, shallow, crescent-shaped bay on the coast of Whatcom County, just south of the Canadian border, and at low tide the water retreats a long way, exposing vast flats of sand where children dig for clams and look for sand dollars. In summer, the incoming tide flows over the sun-warmed sand and the water becomes noticeably warmer than elsewhere in the area, making it one of the more pleasant places to swim in the chilly waters of the Salish Sea.
The town of Birch Bay is a laid-back resort community, with beach houses, holiday rentals, a few restaurants and ice cream shops along the shore road, and a state park with campsites, forest and beach at the southern end. On clear days, the view across the water stretches to the islands and the mountains of Vancouver Island, and Mount Baker rises to the east, a great white cone above the farmland.
A few kilometres north, in Blaine, the Peace Arch stands on the border between the United States and Canada, a white monument built in 1921 to celebrate the long peace between the two countries, in a park that straddles the border. The nearby Semiahmoo Spit is a long, narrow sandbar with a resort, a marina and views across Drayton Harbor.
For riders on the Sunshine Coast ferry ride, Birch Bay is a pleasant pause on the coastal route between the border and Bellingham. The roads here are quiet and flat, with views of the water, though the shore road can be busy in summer. Interstate 5 runs a few kilometres inland, carrying heavy traffic to and from Vancouver. Blaine and Birch Bay have fuel and food. If you are crossing the border, check the wait times, which can be long, especially on weekends and holidays, and have your documents ready.