The Peace Arch as photographed from Peace Arch State Park in Blaine, Washington State, USA looking towards Peace Arch Provincial Park in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.
One of the first outings I made with my new camera was to the White Rock Pier but earlier that day I visited Peace Arch Provincial Park and Peace Arch State Park in British Columbia and Washington State. Parking in the provincial park lot, I walked across the road to photograph the Peace Arch monument and gardens. I’d tried this before a few years ago but there was so much of that orange snow fencing everywhere (lawn was under repair) that working around it for good photographs was not something I ended up attempting. Now there is a perfect lawn and no fencing in sight so it was a great time to revisit this location.
The Peace Arch is a monument completed in 1921 to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the Treaty of Ghent. This treaty ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. The Canadian and American flags fly on top, with the Canadian side (second photo above ) reading “Brethren Dwelling Together In Unity” and the American side (first photo above) reading “Children Of A Common Mother”. When walking through the arch you can read the words “1814 Open One Hundred Years 1914” and “May These Gates Never Be Closed” on the interior sides. The monument straddles the United States and Canadian border which feels a bit strange as you can just walk all around it. I tend to take my passport with me here, but apparently that isn’t really necessary. Both Peace Arch Provincial Park and Peace Arch State Park are situated between their respective border checkpoints, so you haven’t really crossed the border in an official sense by entering the parks.
Both parks have some gardens planted for visitors, though I’ve found much of the time some of these are empty of plants for some reason. The photograph above shows the pond and gazebo (made from many different species of BC wood) on the Canadian side in Peace Arch Provincial Park.
The last photograph here is from last year when I made a trip down the Washington coast towards Anacortes. On the way I stopped at Blaine Marine Park in Blaine to see the view of White Rock and photographed the arch from that perspective. You can see the Canadian border crossing (officially the Douglas Border Crossing) beyond the arch.
For more photographs of this park visit my Peace Arch Provincial Park Gallery.