Pamela Anderson Shares the ‘Most Beautiful Place in the World’ (Exclusive)

Few people are as connected to a place as Pamela Anderson is to Vancouver Island, the Canadian island where she was born and raised. 

“I haven’t been home in a few months, and I can’t wait to put my feet in the water immediately, no matter how cold it is,” the 58-year-old actress told Travel + Leisure this week. “It’s like, I’m home.” 

Despite a successful career that relocated her to California for decades, she found her way back to the Pacific Coast island during the pandemic. “Vancouver Island is my sanctuary,” she said. “It’s always been my place where I went to refuel. I always wanted to go back to where the trees knew me since birth.”

Growing up on the island’s southeastern coast in the town of Ladysmith, Anderson didn’t even step foot off the island for the first two decades of her life, forging a magnetic bond with the area’s nature.

“I dream very vividly when I’m there,” she admitted. “I’m back to where I came from, back to the ocean, mountains, and animals—I even love my West Coast bugs! I’m not used to East Coast bugs. It’s the little things that bring you back to your childhood.”

That connection was strengthened by her grandfather, who she said was very metaphysical and taught her the importance of staying connected to the Earth. “It’s such a great healing space, and probably what kept me in one piece is having that foundation,” she said of her hometown being “my saving grace.”

Anderson’s proud Canadian roots are why she partnered with Destination Canada, inviting Americans to let go of the New Year’s resolution mentality and instead join its Resolution Reset by pausing and taking in the beauty of their northern neighbor. In fact, they’re awarding five U.S. residents who share their reset intentions with a Canada trip curated by boutique travel company Entrée Canada.

“I love the idea of bringing people to our beautiful country, which is a nice respite from the world,” she said. “Come and enjoy some peace.”

Those trips can take the winners to some of Anderson’s favorite Canadian destinations, like Banff’s Lake Louise (“Probably the most beautiful place on Earth”), Montreal and Quebec City (“Gorgeous”), and Prince Edward Island (“A magical place”). She also recently got to know Ottawa while filming on location. “I was like, how come I’d never been here? There’s a lot of history there,” she said, especially with its parliament buildings.

But there’s no place she’d love to spend more time than her beloved Vancouver Island, a vast area itself, as she noted it takes three hours to drive across and six hours to drive top to bottom.

She suggested that first-time visitors arrive by air to Victoria via a seaplane or helicopter. “I like a seaplane because it’s just wild landing on the water,” she said. Then, after seeing the parliament buildings, she said Butchart Gardens is an absolute must. “It’s so stunning,” the Canadian Walk of Famer said. “The peonies are all coming up, and it’s lilac and cherry blossom season.”

She also recommends visiting Oyster Bay, where whales can be spotted, as well as exploring the western coast, in places like Tofino and Ucluelet, and taking in the spectacles of nature every step of the way. 

“We live in a rain forest, and it’s so diverse,” Anderson said. “I have eagles on two trees at my place that kind of squawk to each other across my property. I have a family of otters and great horned owls. There’s so much to see.”

Her favorite stays are the Fairmont Empress in Victoria or the Wickaninnish Inn in Tofino. But of course, for Anderson, there’s no place like home, where she can enjoy her own garden and cook her own meals. In fact, she misses cooking so much that during her last movie, she got a hot plate in her trailer and made lentil soup for the whole crew.

It’s moments like those that show how Anderson takes her Canadian mentality along wherever she travels, always rooting herself in connection. Wherever she is in the world, she sticks to her routine, getting up around 4 a.m. (“Five o’clock is late for me!”), and always going for a walk outside at 7 a.m. 

“I get my oat milk cortado, and I like to write before the sun comes up,” she said. “I always write, no matter what. It’s just rambling streams of consciousness. I feel like handwriting is really important every day.”

Many of her thoughts, as well as her doodles, are published on her Substack, The Open Journal with Pamela Anderson, which her son Dylan Jagger Lee edits. “He tells me if things are cool or not, good or not, or ‘Mom, you can’t say that!’” she said, loving working with her 28-year-old son in this capacity. “That’s part of the charm is knowing he is going to read it, so I’m always kind of writing to him.”

She was not much younger than he is now when she got on her first plane at about 22 years old and headed to Los Angeles—without a passport, since it wasn’t required then.

“I didn’t know what to expect, and my imagination started going, like ‘What are people going to be like? Are they gonna have parrots on their shoulders?’” she recalled. “I had such a crazy imagination—I still do.”

That trip launched her nearly four-decade career, as she’s become known for shows like Home Improvement and Baywatch. And her recent films took her to places like Australia for “Place to Be” and Las Vegas for “The Last Showgirl.” 

“What traveling has taught me is that Canada is the best place and Vancouver Island is the most beautiful place in the world,” she said without hesitation. “I’ve been to enough places to know how lucky I am to be raised in such down-to-earth nature with such kindness.”

As she looks forward to her next trip home to reunite with her dogs, as well as her sourdough starter waiting for her in the back of her fridge, she hopes that others will also be swept up in her home country’s beauty and visit.

“Canada is kind of untapped—it’s like a secret spot,” Anderson said. “It’s humble, beautiful, not pretentious, and a nice escape from the inundation of information that we’re all receiving. It’s just like a beautiful place to slow down.”