Semiahmoo
Sunday, August 20, 2006
I find it difficult to do one-way walks in Semiahmoo because there is virtually no public transportation. However, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in the summer, the MV Plover operates between Blaine Harbour and Semiahmoo Spit and this lets me find a way to explore the area.
We met at Peace Arch Park at 8 o’clock one Friday morning and walked across the border to the bus stop outside Blaine City Hall. We reached there about 15 minutes ahead of the 8:40 #55 bus (the next one is at 3:40 p.m. so you make sure not to be late). The bus arrived about ten minutes early so we got on; I offered my dollar for two fares but was told that the bus is free. The bus left on time and took us to the corner above Birch Bay beach. We got off and walked down the hill to the shore.
We turned right onto Birch Point Road, passing various public and private beaches (only in America). The tide was way out and the bay appeared a wet seaweedy morass to the horizon. We walked as far as Shintaffer Road where we turned right up the hill, following the Coast Meridian Trail as shown on Blaine’s visitors’ map. (However, we found in a little while that it would have been quieter and more enjoyable to have continued along Birch Point Road, turning right up Selder Road to its end. Here a forest trail would have led us to Semiahmoo Parkway only ten minutes from the clubhouse.) We passed a house resplendent in dahlias, offering flowers for sale, then turned left at Lincoln Road to Semiahmoo Parkway. A sign advertised a new development where houses were available, starting at $1 million. Continuing, we found a trail coming in on the left and a short journey of discovery led to its end at Selder and Bayvue. There were also some side trails which we didn’t explore this time. 
We crossed to the clubhouse (open to guests) and went to the Quick Stop in the dining room for coffee and muffins. Sitting at a table looking out at the golfers on the fairways outside, I thought I could easily get used to this kind of life. When rested, we headed out on a southbound path past the Swim and Tennis Centers to reach Snow Goose Lane. This led at its end to Wood Duck Way, with William Rex Park opposite. We walked through the park, enjoying the fountain and the peaceful green views and then followed Wood Duck left to its end. Some new houses were being built to add to the impressive ones already there. The community is gated so there was virtually no traffic except the occasional car, US Mail deliverer and FedEx. At the end Wood Duck Way leads into a trail through trees before coming out to a road by some gates. We went briefly uphill and left into Syre Park. We went to a picnic table and had lunch.
After lunch, we went uphill and right on Canvasback Road, following through houses and cottages to reach Drayton Harbor Road. Crossing the crosswalk, we took the road with a Public Trail sign and switchbacked down to Night Heron Road, turning off left where the next Public Trail sign indicated. This trail continued its switchbacking through woods and led to a footpath bordering Drayton Harbor. We meandered left along this, stopping to pick blackberries on the way and arrived at Semiahmoo Spit. At the entry to Semiahmoo Park, we crossed to the Maritime Museum. A notice said it opened at 1 o’clock, and as it was now 12:55, we waited and, sure enough, it opened on time. The museum is located in an old Alaska Packers hut of the fish packing plant and contains items relating to the old packing house days.
A road runs down the centre of the spit, with a blacktop cycle path on the south side bordering Drayton Harbor and a more informal path on the north side facing Semiahmoo Bay. We took the informal path to Beachwalkers Villas, then went onto the beach, coming out when we reached the resort hotel. We rested for about twenty minutes and went to the MV Plover dock at 2:20 to catch the 2:30 ferry. Unfortunately for us it was just leaving and we had to wait until three o’clock, when it boarded us and others and left at 3:05. The Plover has its schedule but it only holds 17 people and if there are more, the crew comes back as soon as it can to save the passengers waiting the full hour. Although the schedule calls for departures on the half hour, I have left from the Semiahmoo side three times, twice at 20 minutes after and once at 5 minutes after. The vessel is not a point-to-point ferry but offers an enjoyable tourist experience, showing you basking seals and gulls and cormorants on the rocks. We signed the visitors’ book, paid our voluntary donation and took in the scenery. At Blained, we followed the trail around the north edge of Marine Park and walked across the border to Canadian Customs and our car.
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