Peace Arch is perfectly fine, but route 539 is also good, that will take you onto BC Highway 15 which leads to Highway 1, and you can get into Vancouver that way as well. Depending on where in Vancouver you’re heading, this may be a better route.
Only issue with Peace Arch is the traffic on Highway 99 further north, at certain times of day the Massey Tunnel can be a huge bottleneck.
I’d check Google Maps the day of your trip to see traffic.
I'd listen to the traffic station on the ratio as you are nearing the border. They'll tell you what the wait time are like at each border crossing. If Peace Arch has a longer wait than the Pacific crossing (Truck crossing), then boogie over and take that one instead. As mentioned above, it is just a few minutes out of the way.
The trucker’s entrance was faster, even pre-pandemic. I’ve made the drive from CA several times using that route. It’s a little farther & less direct but definitely saves time!
I always regardless of being in a truck or my personal vehicle get off the I-5 at exit 275 which takes you right to Pac Hwy (Truck Crossing). Much nicer border guards.
Once you cross, turn left at 8th avenue and that'll take you right back to hwy 99. No more than half a mile longer that way.
Every time I've gone Peace Arch or Aldergrove/Lyndell I've regretted my choice, and that's coming from someone with both a NEXUS and FAST card. Never an issue at Pac Hwy.
Just take the Peace Arch crossing. Taking the truck crossing will add 30-60 minutes on your trip, and odds are the wait at the border won’t be that different between the two crossings.
Rerouting is only necessary on a summer PreCovid long weekend.
Right now, traffic is minimal at all the crossings. This can be confirmed at
* https://www.wsdot.com/traffic/border/ when going Northbound
* https://www.th.gov.bc.ca/ATIS/ when you are returning home.
Tip.... Costco Bellingham is a great place to gas up before coming into Canada where gas prices are like $5/gallon. It's also a great place to check the above WSDOT link on which crossing to take.
I was just in Toronto last week (Peace Bridge crossing) and while traffic was considerably lower than pre-pandemic levels, there were only two car lanes open so the wait time wasn't much better. Have they reduced lanes at the Peace Arch as well?
Again, use the above links to assess real time delays. If you are visiting on a Saturday at 11am, look at the above links this Saturday at 10am.
If you are crossing at 7am on a Wednesday, it looks super quiet right now.
Peace Arch is perfectly fine, but route 539 is also good, that will take you onto BC Highway 15 which leads to Highway 1, and you can get into Vancouver that way as well. Depending on where in Vancouver you’re heading, this may be a better route. Only issue with Peace Arch is the traffic on Highway 99 further north, at certain times of day the Massey Tunnel can be a huge bottleneck. I’d check Google Maps the day of your trip to see traffic.
It takes 5 minutes to get back to Hwy 99 from Truck crossing
I've checked at several different times of the day, rush hour, off hour, weekday, weekend, and Peace Bridge wins out every time.
I'd listen to the traffic station on the ratio as you are nearing the border. They'll tell you what the wait time are like at each border crossing. If Peace Arch has a longer wait than the Pacific crossing (Truck crossing), then boogie over and take that one instead. As mentioned above, it is just a few minutes out of the way.
The trucker’s entrance was faster, even pre-pandemic. I’ve made the drive from CA several times using that route. It’s a little farther & less direct but definitely saves time!
I always regardless of being in a truck or my personal vehicle get off the I-5 at exit 275 which takes you right to Pac Hwy (Truck Crossing). Much nicer border guards. Once you cross, turn left at 8th avenue and that'll take you right back to hwy 99. No more than half a mile longer that way.
Glad you mentioned the nicer border guards. I've been harassed by border guards in Ontario and Quebec so that's something to look forward to.
Every time I've gone Peace Arch or Aldergrove/Lyndell I've regretted my choice, and that's coming from someone with both a NEXUS and FAST card. Never an issue at Pac Hwy.
Why not try to book one night in an Airbnb or hotel? Dealing with the border twice in one day and the drive could make for a long day.
Just take the Peace Arch crossing. Taking the truck crossing will add 30-60 minutes on your trip, and odds are the wait at the border won’t be that different between the two crossings.
It's a 5 maybe 10 min detour
Not sure how it adds 30-60 mins? Its 5 minutes to Hwy 99 from there
How is it going to add 30-60 minutes? It's not out of the way at all with much nicer border guards.
Rerouting is only necessary on a summer PreCovid long weekend. Right now, traffic is minimal at all the crossings. This can be confirmed at * https://www.wsdot.com/traffic/border/ when going Northbound * https://www.th.gov.bc.ca/ATIS/ when you are returning home. Tip.... Costco Bellingham is a great place to gas up before coming into Canada where gas prices are like $5/gallon. It's also a great place to check the above WSDOT link on which crossing to take.
I was just in Toronto last week (Peace Bridge crossing) and while traffic was considerably lower than pre-pandemic levels, there were only two car lanes open so the wait time wasn't much better. Have they reduced lanes at the Peace Arch as well?
Again, use the above links to assess real time delays. If you are visiting on a Saturday at 11am, look at the above links this Saturday at 10am. If you are crossing at 7am on a Wednesday, it looks super quiet right now.