More than 30 years after guarding the beaches of Los Angeles County, Pamela Anderson is still watching the bay.
At her home on Vancouver Island, the Canadian-American actor spends her days scanning the chop for whales, not floundering swimmers.
“I live in a little bay so they come in, turn around and go out again to sea,” Anderson, 58, said of the humpbacks and orcas that pull U-turns in the waterway abutting her property.
In the 1990s, Anderson slo-mo-ed her way into our living rooms as C.J. Parker, the Malibu Barbie of beach patrol. She reemerged several years ago transformed, a barefaced, raw-edged artiste appearing in daring roles that earned her critical praise. Her make-under dovetailed with her return to Vancouver Island, a destination oceans away from SoCal — figuratively speaking.
Circa her “Baywatch” era, she purchased her grandparents’ property in Ladysmith, where she was born and grew up. In 2021, she sold her Malibu home for $11.8 million and moved back to the small coastal town whose second-most famous resident is Parker Williams, the teen who kindled the 5 Cent Candy War, a national protest over a three-cent increase of the chocolate bar.
“This is where the trees have known me since birth,” Anderson said during a recent phone interview. “I’m a Vancouver Island girl.”
Earlier this year, Anderson partnered with Destination Canada, the national tourism marketing organization, on a campaign encouraging visitors to decompress and recharge through the outdoors and intentional and authentic travel.
“I’m always an ambassador to Canada, because I feel safe here. I feel good here,” she said. “I’ve had a lot of wild experiences, but I have groundedness from living on an island. ”
After six months on the road for filming and other work obligations, she returned to Canada in early March, just in time to see the daffodils bloom and to plant her summer garden, because she isn’t done growing.
Here, she shares some of her favorite Canadian experiences and where to find them.
West Coast rules
Anderson, who spent most of her life in L.A. and B.C., is a proud “West Coast girl.”
As a child, she would accompany her father, a chimney sweeper, around British Columbia, traveling as far north as Dawson Creek, the southernmost point of the 1,387-mile Alaska Highway. The farthest east she ever lived was in Alberta, one province away. She took her first trip to Ottawa for a film project.
“I am the master of Vancouver Island,” she said.
Pamela’s travel tip: Vancouver Island is not a smudge of land in the Pacific; it’s the largest island on the west coast of North America — nearly 300 miles from top to bottom. A few of Anderson’s favorite places are Tofino, a seaside village on Clayoquot Sound with bears, whales and an ancient rainforest; Ucluelet, a hot spot for surfing and storm-watching; and Victoria, the former British colonial port named after the queen.
Gardens galore
Gardening is a popular pastime on Vancouver Island, and Anderson counts herself as an avid cultivator. She has turned her grandparents’ seven-acre property Arcady into an Eden.
“My garden is spectacular. I love the grapes and all the vegetables I’m planting right now, and everything is starting to bloom — the bulbs and the daffodils, next will be the tulips and then the lilacs,” she said.
Because of the island’s temperate climate, which is often compared with the Mediterranean’s, the public and private gardens are always in season. Victoria’s nickname is Garden City, after all.
Pamela’s travel tip: The 55-acre Butchart Gardens, established 122 years ago, showcases five floral styles, including Italian, Japanese, sunken and rose. For a less manicured landscape, tiptoe through the giant Douglas firs in Cathedral Grove, in MacMillan Park. Milner Gardens & Woodland is a profusion of rhododendrons, with about 400 of the flowering plants.
For national parks, go north
Canada has nearly 50 national parks and reserves, but Anderson is partial to the northern wilds.
“The farther north you go, the more lush and untouched it seems,” Anderson said. “And our connection with the Indigenous peoples, and the respect we have for their culture, is very humbling, exciting and interesting.”
Pamela’s travel tip: Banff “is one of the most beautiful places,” said Anderson, who after high school bused tables at the stately Fairmont Banff Springs. Lake Louise, 35 miles up the Trans-Canada Highway, is equally stunning.
Neighborhood whale watch
When the whales swim into the bay near Anderson’s home, the neighbors send an alert.
“The neighbors will call you and go, ‘Whales, whales, run to the beach,’” said Anderson, a devoted animal activist.
Pamela’s travel tip: The island is the permanent home or seasonal residence for several species of whales. In Victoria, about 55 miles south of Ladysmith, wildlife viewers can spot orcas year-round as well as gray whales (March-November), humpbacks (May-November) and minkes. The B.C. waters are also a playground for harbor and Dall’s porpoises, California and Stellar sea lions, elephant seals and sea otters. Tourism Vancouver Islandhas a list of whale-watching tour operators.
Teatime
The British tradition of formal tea carries on in Canada.
Anderson fondly remembers her great-aunt Vie donning flamboyant hats for afternoon tea and her grandmother preparing tea service in the little store she ran on their property.
Pamela’s travel tip: Experience proper tea at a salon or the Fairmont Empress in Victoria, which pairs loose-leaf teas with scones sweetened with strawberry jam, pastries, honey from the hotel’s beehives and finger sandwiches — a custom going strong since 1908.
Never far from a beach
Anderson didn’t just play a thalassophile; she is one. At home, she is never far from sand or surf.
“I remember moving off the island and going, doesn’t everybody have a rocky mountain that goes straight onto the beach?” she said.
Pamela’s travel tip: Tofino, on the west coast, is a “beautiful beach community” teeming with hardy surfers unfazed by the cold water and strong waves. Cox Bay Beach hosts many surf competitions, such as the 2026 Rip Curl Nationals Canada, which run from May 8 to 10.
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