List of social nudity places in North America
This is a list of social nudity places in North America for recreation. Includes free beaches (or clothing-optional beaches or nude beaches) and some resorts.
Canada
These are just the most prominent nude beaches in Canada. For a more complete listing of free beaches and naturist resorts, see the Federation of Canadian Naturists. For general information on the naturist community, visit the NetNude portal. For more information on top-freedom (toplessness) in Canada (and elsewhere), see the Top-Free Equal Rights Association.
British Columbia
- See Pacific Northwest locations listed at Pacific Northwest at Naked Wikia
- Wreck Beach is the second largest clothing-optional beach in North America with over 100,000 visitors each year. It is in the University Endowment Lands, just west of the city limits of Vancouver, on the north arm of the Fraser River.
- Recent political wrangling has fallen in favour of nudism at a stretch of beach immediately east of Crescent Beach, in South Surrey.[citation needed]
Ontario
- All areas of Ontario, unless otherwise specified by town or city by-laws, allow both males and females to be topless in public.
- Hanlan's Point Beach, on the Toronto Islands at 43°36′55″N 79°24′36″W / 43.61528°N 79.41000°W is a sandy Clothing optional beach.
Quebec
- Oka, Quebec [1], at 45°27′50″N 74°06′00″W / 45.46389°N 74.10000°W is about 40 km from Montreal in Quebec.
- Centre naturiste la Pommerie, in Quebec, a naturist camping where the annual Canadian Naturist Festival is usually held in August.
Jamaica
- Most nudist beaches in Jamaica are actually private beaches owned by large resorts. Firefly Beach in Negrilis open to the public.[2]
Mexico
- Zipolite, Oaxaca: Zipolite beach has been nudist for more than 30 years. Nudism in Zipolite is tolerated, since Mexican law only condemns "immorality" and thus, the issue ends up being a matter of the judge's criteria. This beach is the considered by many to be the best place to practice nudism in the country, since the quantity of nudists and the long tradition make it safe for nudists. Other places in the country may not be as safe.
Netherlands Antilles
- In Aruba island, two beaches allow nudity, especially in late afternoon and dawn.
- Baby Beach near Saint Nicholas.
- Eagle Beach near Oranjestad.
United States
California
- Baker Beach is a beach of the National Park Service in San Francisco. The north end of the beach (closest to the Golden Gate bridge) is officially sanctioned as clothing-optional.[citation needed] It provides spectacular views of the Golden Gate and Marin County.[3]
- Black's Beach, in La Jolla, a neighborhood of San Diego, is possibly the largest de facto clothing optional beach in the United States. Part of the beach is in a state park where it is legal to be nude, the rest is on city property where it is illegal to be nude but generally tolerated. San Onofre Beach is 55 kilometres (34 miles) northwest of this beach (near San Clemente).
- College Cove Beach is in the town of Trinidad, north of Eureka in Northern Humboldt County.
- Deep Creek Volunteers — Hot Springs in Apple Valley, California
- Garrapata State Park — Clothing optional beach 15 minutes drive south of Carmel.
- Devil's Slide or Gray Whale Cove is the only officially-sanctioned nude state-owned beach in California. Run for years by a private concessionaire who provided the only access to this remote beach, the State of California took over its operation in 2001.
- Laguna Del Sol — Clothing optional resort in Wilton, near Sacramento, featuring camping and RV spots, a lake, heated swimming pools, spas, walking tracks, stores, restaurant and event center.
- Land’s End — Within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Land’s End beach is considered the most beautiful nude beach in the San Francisco area. It is reached only by a steep, difficult trail.[4]
- Harbin Hot Springs is a beautiful, bohemian retreat and workshop center, 2 1/2 ___ northeast of the San Francisco Bay Area, north of the Napa Valley, near Middletown, California.
- Living Waters Spa near Palm Springs in Desert Hot Springs, CA, this swimsuit optional spa has hot spring water pools and the spa is an easy introduction to social nudity. [5]
- Pirates Cove near San Luis Obispo, California [6]
- Red Rock Beach in Stinson Beach, California
- Saline Valley Warm Springs — Hot springs in Death Valley National Park
- San Gregorio nude beach might be the oldest continuously active nude beach in the United States[citation needed]. It dates to 1967 and is 3 km (2 miles) of public beach which can be reached only by a private road near the town of San Gregorio on the San Mateo County coast, south of San Francisco. San Gregorio beach is the largest of about 20 clothing-optional beaches along the coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz.
- The Terra Cotta Inn Clothing Optional Resort in sunny Palm Springs, CA, this nudist resort is popular with first-time nude sunbathers. [7]
- Zmudowski State Beach - Unofficial clothing-optional "hidden beach" within Moss Landing.
Colorado
- Mountain Air Ranch Family Nudist Resort, a family nudist resort near Denver
Florida
- Haulover Beach, at 25°54′40″N 80°07′18″W / 25.91111°N 80.12167°W in Miami-Dade County (between Sunny Isles Beach, Florida, and Bal Harbour), the most popular nude beach in North America.
- Playalinda Beach, part of Canaveral National Seashore; has long allowed nudity.
Hawai‘i
- Donkey Beach on Kaua‘i
- Kehena Beach (Dolphin Beach) is a black sand beach in the Puna District of the Island of Hawai‘i (Big Island)
- Larsen's Beach on Kaua‘i
- Little Mākena Beach in Mākena State Park, Maui
- Red Sand Beach near Hāna on Maui
- Secret Beach on Kaua‘i
- Slaughterhouse Beach on Maui
Illinois
- Nude sunbathing and swimming has occurred at Illinois Beach State Park, 1.6 km (one mile) south of the park headquarters building, at the end of the beach.
- Until 1995, nude night swimming occurred at Oak Street Beach in Chicago and other beaches on Lake Michigan[citation needed]. About 1995, police patrols eliminated it.
Idaho
- Warm Springs in Boise, Idaho, is a clothing-optional neighborhood.
- See Pacific Northwest locations listed at Pacific Northwest at Naked Wikia.
Kansas
- The Naturist Society is affiliated with Lake Edun in Topeka and Prairie Haven in Scranton.
- The American Association for Nude Recreation is associated with the Sandy Lane Club in Hutchinson.
Maryland
- Camp Ramblewood in Darlington is available for groups wishing to host clothing-optional events.
Massachusetts
- Privacy Campground in Hancock contains a nude sunbathing area and permits skinny dipping.
Missouri
- The American Association for Nude Recreation is associated with the nudity-required Forty Acre Club in Londell, Missouri.
- The Naturist Society is affiliated with Heartland Naturists near Kansas City and Show Me Acres in Stover
Nevada
- Lake Tahoe's Nevada shore includes several clothing-optional beaches — the best-known is Secret Cove. [9]
New Jersey
- Rock Lodge Club is a family-oriented nudist club on 60 ha (145 acres) of privately-owned land in the Highlands forests of New Jersey, about 65 km (40 miles) from Manhattan, New York.
- Gunnison Beach in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, a part of the National Park Service's multi-state Gateway National Recreation Area, is a clothing-optional beach by custom and is the largest such beach in the Northeastern United States (there are several other public beaches on Sandy Hook where nudity is not tolerated). In 1999, New Jersey passed a law a bill that prohibits all types of nudism on state or municipal beaches, making Gunnison Beach the only legal nude beach in the state, since it is on federal land not subject to state or municipal regulations.
New York
- Lighthouse Beach, Fire Island National Seashore, NY, a part of the National Park Service is just east of Robert Moses State Park on the barrier island known as Fire Island separating the main part of Long Island from Fire Island with the Great South Bay between them. Clothing-optional by custom, this beach has been so for over 30 years. A 'carry-in, carry-out' area, the locals are self-policing and keep an eye open for inappropriate behavior. Most are life-long fixtures on the beach, but the popularity of the site has been growing over the past years. The nude areas are separated by a 100 meter passage for folks paying a visit to the well-kept historic Fire Island Lighthouse. Heading east from this beach are the famous communities of Fire Island, some of which also permit clothing-optional sunbathing. LHB attracts folks from afar.
There are no lifeguards on this stretch of beautiful sand backed by natural dunes. Deer will wander down the dunes toward sunset.
Oregon
- See Pacific Northwest locations listed at Pacific Northwest at Naked Wikia.
- Rooster Rock State Park along the Columbia River.
- Collins Beach on Sauvie Island near Portland.
- Bare Lake in Southern Oregon near Howard Prarie Lake.
Ohio
Paradise Gardens.
Pennsylvania
Texas
- Hippie Hollow Clothing-Optional Nudist Park, on the shore of Lake Travis northwest of Austin.
Vermont
- Abbotts Glen in Halifax.
- The Ledges, on the Harriman Reservoir in Wilmington.
- Starr Farm Beach in Burlington.
Washington
- Peoples Park in Spokane, Washington.
- See Pacific Northwest locations listed at Pacific Northwest at Naked Wikia
Wisconsin
- Mazo Beach on the Wisconsin River.
Miscellaneous
There are two places in the United States with nudist youth camps: Lake Como, Florida and Shangri-La, Arizona.
A camp at White Tail Park, Southampton County, Virginia may be discontinued: even though the camps are strictly non-sexual, in 2004 the commonwealth law of Virginia, enforced by Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore, banned nudist youth camps unless a parent, grandparent or legal guardian is present, citing dangers from sexual predators.[12] The ACLU, the park, three boys, ages 11, 15 and 17, and two girls, 10 and 12, and their parents (three couples) challenged the new law on June 29, 2004, arguing that it violates the constitutional right to privacy [13].