Introduction
Introduction Statistics Contact Development Disclaimer Help
.-') _ .-') _
( OO ) ) ( OO ) )
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,'
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | )
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--'
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
10 of the best nude beaches in the US
By Joe Yogerst, CNN
Updated:
11:13 AM EDT, Tue August 26, 2025
(CNN) – “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is a phrase
enshrined in the US Declaration of Independence. But a couple of the
Founding Fathers might have considered skinny dipping another
inalienable right.
Benjamin Franklin to demonstrate what were apparently exceptional
swimming skills.
During his tenure in the White House, John Quincy Adams frequently
started his presidential day with a naked soak in the Potomac.
Fast forward more than two centuries, clothing optional resorts and
nude beaches can be found across the nation. The American Association
for Nude Recreation (AANR) endorses more than 180 nudist resorts and
clubs, while the Naturist Society lists more than 200 ways the people
can dare to bare.
Florida and California — where the “free beach” movement to allow
public nudity started in the 1960s — offer the most clothing optional
choices, but you can find places to swim nude in nearly every state.
Some nude beaches, swimming holes and hot springs are totally legal,
while others are technically illegal but largely tolerated by local
authorities. Some places allow topless (but not bottomless) beachgoing
while others permit same-sex clothing optional beaches.
Needless to say, it’s always best to check local laws and regulations
before stripping at any beach that’s considered clothing optional.
With that in mind, here are 10 of America’s best nude beaches:
Apollo Beach, Florida
Located at the southern end of the coast road in Cape Canaveral
National Seashore, is named for the space program that put American
astronauts on the Moon. As a matter of fact, if you time it right, you
can watch a rocket launch (from the nearby Kennedy Space Center) in
your birthday suit.
One of the last stretches of wild beach left along Florida’s Atlantic
shore, Apollo spans more than eight miles. The clothing-optional
portion lies at the very southern end, the golden sand beyond Parking
Lot No. 5.
Managed by the National Park Service, Apollo is a legal nude beach. The
only stipulation is that bathers keep their clothes on until they’re
at least 150 yards south of the parking lot. And there are signs
warning non-naturists they “may encounter nude sunbathing” beyond
Lot. 5.
Black’s Beach, California
One of the nation’s most renowned nude beaches sprawls at the bottom
of 300-foot-high cliffs at the bottom of the Torrey Pines Gliderport on
the north side of San Diego.
Access is via several steep trails down the cliffs or along the beach
at low tide from parking lots at La Jolla Shores or Torrey Pines State
Natural Reserve.
In 1974, became the nation’s first and only legal nude beach. But
that distinction lasted only a few years.
Nowadays, nakedness is verboten on the city-managed south side while
clothing is optional on the north side inside the state park boundary.
Collins Beach, Oregon
Despite Oregon’s long and incredibly scenic Pacific coast, the
state’s leading nude beach lies on in the middle of the Columbia
River near Portland.
Located in a state-managed wildlife refuge near the island’s top end,
Collins has been attracting naturists since the 1970s to its soft river
sand, photogenic driftwood and views across the water to Washington
State.
Beachgoers need to purchase a parking permit for the island, available
at the Cracker Barrel Grocery Mart on the island side of the Sauvie
Island Bridge, where you can also buy food and drinks, fishing gear and
Oregon Lottery tickets.
Gunnison Beach, New Jersey
Gunnison Beach sprawls along the windward side of the Sandy Hook
Peninsula in Gateway National Recreation Area.
Named after an early 20th-century U.S. Army gun battery that once
protected the entrance to New York Harbor, is New Jersey’s only legal
nude beach. The bare-all section is well marked for those who are
liable to blush. Meanwhile, the National Park Service warns that
nakedness outside the designated clothing-optional area is considered
“disorderly conduct.”
Even in the lightest traffic, the beach is a 90-minute drive from New
York City via the Holland Tunnel and New Jersey Turnpike. The fastest
way is boarding a Seastreak Ferry in Manhattan for a 35-minute cruise
to Sandy Hook pier, then a 20-minute walk across the peninsula to
Gunnison.
Haulover Beach, Florida
Sunny Isles on the north side of Miami provides a long, sandy venue for
what is probably the nation’s most popular nude beach in terms of
pure attendance.
Thousands gather there on holidays and weekends, and Haulover has made
several attempts to set a Guinness Record for the most people skinny
dipping in one spot.
Because of its urban setting, is one of the more developed nude
beaches. There are public restrooms and showers, umbrella and chair
rentals, plus the B&B Haulover Beach Café, which serves up food and
drinks.
The beach is deemed family-friendly by the local authorities, and the
wider public park is popular for kite-flying and other activities.
Hippie Hollow, Texas
Austin’s freewheeling attitudes spawned a nude beach in the heart of
Texas, a rocky shore in Hippie Hollow Park where “nudity is
acceptable, lewd behavior is not,” says . There’s also an age
limit: The park bans anyone younger than 18.
With a swim zone and two no-wake zones, Hippie Hollow is an ideal spot
for skinny dipping, especially during the summer months when daytime
temperatures can reach triple digits.
The colorful name was inspired by naked Flower Children who gathered
there in the late 60s and 70s. Lakeshore residents lost a court case to
have nakedness banned.
Still, it wasn’t until the county took possession of the lakeshore in
1985 that clothing optional became official at Hippie Hollow.
Moshup Beach, Massachusetts
Framed by multicolored clay cliffs and strewn with wave-splashed
boulders, on Martha’s Vineyard includes both clothing-optional and
clothing-required sections along the shore of Aquinnah village on the
island’s eastern tip.
Moshup offers one of the Vineyard’s best surfing breaks and those who
crawl back into their clothes can visit clifftop attractions like
historic Gay Head Lighthouse (built in 1799) and take in exhibits on
the island’s original Wampanoag people at the Aquinnah Cultural
Center.
The beach and surrounding area are known for exceptional beauty and
also serenity. The Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe owns the cliffs, which are
protected in part by the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank Commission.
Pirate’s Cove, California
Located around halfway between the Central Coast communities of Avila
Beach and Shell Beach, Pirate’s Cove offers a crescent of sand beside
a rocky point with a natural arch called Smuggler’s Cave.
Nobody knows for sure if the beach was a hideout for pirates during
pioneer days — or whether or not those buccaneers buried treasure in
the sand as per local legends. But bootleggers definitely used
Pirate’s Cove to transfer illicit alcohol during Prohibition.
Part of a San Luis Obispo County natural area, the beach is officially
clothing optional. Bring a mask and snorkel to investigate the sea life
that cluster around offshore rocks and the kelp forest a little farther
out. Harbor seals, sea lions and sea otters are among the larger
critters that frequent the cove on occasion.
Secret Cove, Nevada
Framed by evergreen trees and spangled with half-submerged boulders
surrounded by water that varies from sapphire blue to turquoise and
jade, this tiny Lake Tahoe shoreline may be the nation’s most
gorgeous nude beach.
However, it’s no longer a secret. Influencers and selfie addicts love
the cove. On any given day, the majority of beachgoers are likely those
who won’t be sans clothing. Still, it’s up to them to respect the
right (and privacy) of those who do bare all.
A 15-minute drive south of Incline Village on the lake’s eastern
shore, the cove is located on National Forest land. A small parking lot
with a public restroom beside Highway 28 marks the start of a steep,
dirt trail to the beach.
Visitors can also access the cove by private boat. There is no dock, so
boaters will need to anchor offshore beyond the swim zone.
UFO Beach, Texas
The most remote nude beach on our list, UFO stretches along the Gulf of
Mexico on the roadless top half of South Padres Island.
Reaching it entails a backpacking trek or driving overland across the
beach, best accomplished with a 4x4 vehicle and the equipment needed to
dig yourself out (shovel and bucket) if the vehicle gets stuck. Either
way, you also need to pack enough food and water to last your length of
stay.
The beach didn’t gain its extraterrestrial nom de plume until after
2005’s Hurricane Katrina, when a saucer-shaped, oil rig escape pod
washed ashore. Covered in ever-changing graffiti, the pod is now one of
several impromptu artworks along the shore.
<- back to index
You are viewing proxied material from codevoid.de. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.