The wild west coast: Tofino & Ucluelet
The west coast is the dramatic one, open Pacific swell, surf, and storms. The Tofino and Ucluelet cams look straight into the ocean at Cox Bay, Chesterman Beach, Clayoquot Sound, and the Amphitrite lighthouse. This is the coast people picture when they think of Vancouver Island: wide sand beaches, old-growth rainforest, and weather that rolls in off thousands of kilometres of open water.
See all the west-coast cams →Harbours: Ucluelet, Tofino & Port Alberni
The harbour cams are the working waterfront: fishing boats, water taxis, floatplanes, and whale-watching vessels coming and going. Tofino and Ucluelet both look over their inner harbours, while Port Alberni's Harbour Quay sits at the head of the long Alberni Inlet, deep inland, where the mornings are often mirror-flat.
The sheltered east coast & Salish Sea
Cross the island and the water calms right down. Goose Spit in Comox reaches into a protected harbour backed by the Beaufort Range, and Ross Bay in Victoria faces the Strait of Juan de Fuca toward the Olympic Mountains. Out in the Salish Sea, a 4K camera watches the Strait of Georgia, and a hydrophone near Pender Island lets you listen for passing orcas and humpbacks beneath the surface.
Under the water
Two of the cams point below the surface. An Ocean Wise camera streams live from beneath Barkley Sound, rockfish, kelp, and passing marine life in one of the richest cold-water ecosystems on the coast. The Pender Island hydrophone is audio only: tune in and you may catch the clicks and calls of orcas moving through the sanctuary.
Watch the Barkley Sound underwater cam →Common questions
- Where can I watch Vancouver Island webcams live?
- TofinoTV runs a live cam network spanning the west coast (Tofino and Ucluelet), the harbours, and the Salish Sea, including Cox Bay, Chesterman Beach, Amphitrite Lighthouse, Comox, Victoria, and an underwater cam in Barkley Sound.
- Are there live surf cams for Vancouver Island?
- Yes. The Cox Bay and Chesterman Beach cams near Tofino look directly at the surf breaks, so you can check the waves before you drive out.
- Can you see whales on the webcams?
- Not on demand, but the Barkley Sound underwater cam and the Pender Island hydrophone both stream from waters where whales and other marine life pass through. The hydrophone lets you listen for orcas and humpbacks.
- What's the difference between the west and east coast cams?
- The west-coast cams (Tofino, Ucluelet) face the open Pacific, so they show surf and storms. The east-coast and Salish Sea cams (Comox, Victoria, the Strait of Georgia) are sheltered and calmer, better for still water, sunrises, and marine traffic.