Roche Harbour is a very convenient place to clear into the US, with a permanently manned (during normal working hours) CBP office at the end of the hammerhead pier in the marina. You can literally tie up within a few yards of the office.

Once cleared in, if you haven't already made a reservation for the busy marina, you can anchor just about anywhere in the harbour bay which has uniformly good depths for anchoring and good all round shelter. Holding in the harbour is reported as being poor at times, and we witnessed a significant number of yachts, most of which had undersized anchors, struggling to find good holding. However, provided you have an anchor which is heavy enough to break through the layer of bottom kelp holding in the thick mud underneath the kelp is excellent and you may have to work hard to break your anchor out the following morning.

Ashore there are all the facilities you would expect in an upmarket resort marina, with prices to match. Provisions are available, but at a price, and if you are planning on cruising the San Juan Islands for any length of time it pays to provision in either Anacortes or Sidney before you start.

There are a no of short walking trails ashore but most other activities in the harbour seem to involve parting company with significant amounts of money