Border wait times at Blaine, WA?
 

I'm taking a weekend trip to Seattle next month and while I'm there, I'm considering a visit to Vancouver. Does anybody know what the wait times at the Blaine border crossing are like on a Sunday in February, both going into Canada and coming back? Much appreciated.

Honestly the wait times can be fairly random. I would expect that it should be decent, maybe a bit heavier coming back since it would be Sunday afternoon and dealing with the US customs. Most of the time the truck crossing is better. AM 790 KGMI has pretty regular updates. You can also check http://www.borderlineups.com/

This comes up on FT fairly often; do a search. For a ballpark estimate, the northbound wait is typically 30 to 60 minutes; southbound on Sunday afternoon/evening will likely be longer, maybe much longer; my record is three hours.

The "truck crossing" mcrt refers to is one mile east of the main Peace Arch crossing that I-5 northbound funnels into. You want to exit I-5 at the last Blaine exit before the Peace Arch and follow the signs. Southbound, same trick: get off BC Highway 99 at the last exit before the border, drive east to the first traffic light, and turn right/south. The southbound line is almost always shorter than at the Peace Arch IME. Also, there is a good duty-free shop in BC on the right side of the road just before the truck-crossing checkpoint. You can get on-the-spot GST refunds in there if you've bought anything substantial in Canada.

I used to live in Seattle and took trips to Vancouver quite often. The border crossing times can be quite long, especially on holiday weekends. I would always use the border crossing at Aldergrove that is further east the Peace Arch and the Truck Crossing. From Seattle, you take I-5 north to Bellingham. at Bellingham you take the exit for Highway 539. It is a straight shot from there to the border crossing. Once you cross the border, you go up Highway 13 to Highway 1 and take Highway 1 west into Vancouver. Using that border crossing I was never more than five cars back to cross. Driving time is about 20-30 minutes extra, but beats sitting at the Peace Arch for two hours. I would check on the days you are crossing to see what wait times are like and consider using the Aldergrove crossing is the Peach Arch and Truck Crossing are busy.