Photo by Anna i Adria

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.

Little Beach

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

Wreck Beach

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/

photo by Vox Efx

San Onofre State Beach

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

Cap d’Agde

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

Haulover Beach

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.

photo by diluvi

Apollo Beach

Volusia County, Florida

More centrally located in the Sunshine State than Haulover, Apollo Beach is at the north end of Canaveral National Seashore, an undeveloped area (i.e., few amenities) shared by hardy beach enthusiasts and a number of endangered species under the protection of the U.S. National Park Service.

“What’s not to love about a nude beach in Florida?” says Steve Vickers, 28, who works for AANR (the American Association for Nude Recreation). “It’s a great place where my friends and I escape for a ‘detox weekend.’”

Available parking (in lot number 5) has not kept up with the demand, so plan to arrive early. And don’t come expecting a bird’s eye view of a shuttle launch: Apollo is closed the week of a planned space shot.

Hanlan’s Point Beach

Toronto, Canada

Hanlan’s Point Beach was an experiment that succeeded: nude sunbathers who had been frequenting the place for years persuaded local authorities to declare it officially clothing optional on a trial basis, and it soon became more popular than the “textile” (i.e., swimsuit) area.

Access to Hanlan’s Point is via a 15-minute ferry ride from downtown Toronto, followed by a 10-minute walk to the clothing optional area of the beach. The Hanlan’s Beach Naturists have equipped the beach with courts for playing volleyball, European “lengoteke” and French petanque. www.pathcom.com/~frebeach

photo by Richard Berg

Gunnison Beach

Sandy Hook, N.J.

Gunnison Beach, the largest clothing optional beach on the Atlantic coast of the United States, is one of several beaches in northern New Jersey’s Gateway National Recreation Area. Located on the Sandy Hook peninsula, Gunnison affords a panoramic view of New York Harbor and the famous skyline of lower Manhattan.

Legally recognized as clothing optional, with official signs, a lifeguard and police protection, Gunnison’s proximity to metropolitan New York means it can draw in excess of 5,000 visitors a day on a sunny summer weekend. gunnisonbeach.org

Samurai Beach

Port Stephens, Australia

The Beijing Olympics are over, but there’s no need to wait another four years to watch – or even participate in – riveting Olympic games of a totally different sort: the annual Nude Olympics held every November at Samurai Beach on Australia’s east coast.

Located within the bounds of Tomaree National Park, about 120 miles north of Sydney, ruggedly unspoiled Samurai Beach was one of the first legal nude beaches Down Under. Even when not hosting events like the Nude Torch Relay, the fun-loving Samurai Beach crowd gets to frolic in the Pacific Ocean in gorgeous weather all year round.

photo by pedrosimoes7

Anse de Grand Saline/Anse du Gouverneur

St. Barthelemy

All of the beaches on tiny St. Barts are topless (that good old French influence), and two of them are topless and bottomless, Anse de Grand Saline and Anse du Gouverneur. Lesser known than the clothing optional Orient Bay Beach on St. Martin, these fairly long beaches are consequently less crowded.

On the other hand, neither Anse de Grand Saline nor Anse du Gouverneur have any facilities whatsoever — no food or drink for sale, changing facilities or even public restrooms – so come prepared.

Community Connection!

Watch the legendary video of Matador editor Tim Patterson getting naked in Patagonia and flapping his arms like a condor: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=jFnOhCNBmBg

Before You Go:
[NUDE TRAVEL GUIDE]
Naked Magazine’s Wordwide Guide to Naked Places, 6th Edition

Buzzy Gordon

Over the course of his 30-year career, award-winning journalist Buzzy Gordon has been a reporter, copy editor, columnist, bureau chief and travel writer on five continents. He has visited nearly 70 countries and lectures frequently on the subject of travel. In 2007, he became a regular contributor to the travel section of USA Today, a national newspaper with a circulation of more than 2.3 million.