IF YOU WANT TO be sure you’re not hassled, here are 10 popular beaches where bathing attire – actually, any attire at all – is optional.
And if you like what you see here, make sure to check out Best Nude Beaches in the World, Vol. 2.
Maui, Hawaii
What good is a Garden of Eden type Paradise if you can’t enjoy it Adam and Eve style? Fortunately, the authorities in charge of Makena State Park, on the island of Maui, understand that – and the locals appreciate the tourism dollars naturist travelers bring.
No less beautiful than Big Beach, Little Beach is kept clean and sociable by the Friends of Little Beach/Maui Sunseekers, who also sponsor nude half-day cruises several times a year. littlebeachmaui.com
Vancouver, British Columbia
The setting of Wreck Beach, Canada’s first and largest legal clothing-optional beach, couldn’t be more different from the tropics – but it is no less stunning.
Located at the confluence of the Frasier River with the Straits of Georgia and English Bay, this 5-mile long beach draws more than 500,000 visitors annually to admire the surrounding white cliffs and emerald-green forest. As befits one of the largest nude beaches in the world, it enjoys the allegiance of the Wreck Beach Preservation Society. www.wreckbeach.org/
Orange County, California
Yet another enclave defended by an active “Friends of” organization is the two-mile stretch of beach at the southern end of San Onofre State Park in the sun-drenched OC. A judge just ruled that the clothing optional section of the beach could stay that way, so come down and help the naturist enthusiasts celebrate their 30-year tradition.
Not far away along this surfers’ paradise coast is another Southern California clothing optional recreational area, San Diego’s Blacks Beach. friendsofsanonofre.org
Vermeille Coast, France
Cap d’Agde is much more than just a nude beach: it is the “World Capital of Nudism.” In the “naturist quarter” of this Mediterranean resort town, nudity is legal not only on the beach but also in banks, restaurants and shops.
Of course, France is the home of laissez-faire, so just about every beach in southern France is topless. While the clothing optional atmosphere here is as wholesome as anywhere, there are sections of the beach at night where friskier activities are reported to take place. www.capdagde.com
Miami, Florida
This lovely beach in metropolitan Miami has been featured as one of the Travel Channel’s “Top Beaches” – and 1,000,000 visitors a year give it its reputations as one of the most popular clothing optional beaches in the country.
Haulover was once a very unsavory place, until it was reclaimed from drug dealers by naturist activists; to make sure it stays family-friendly, the city of Miami maintains the amenities, including patrolling lifeguards, barbecue grills, refreshment stands and showers. If you get bored just soaking up rays, there are volleyball games and even occasional surfing contests.