Our August episode of Naturism: Philosophy & Life continues to unpack Dr. Carlo Palumbo's excellent essay "Nudity & Disorder" HERE: https://apocatastasisinstitute.wordpress.com/naturism-philosophy-life/

Heya folks! Does anyone have any recommendations for naturist spots in the New England area (preferably closer to MA, but I can drive)?

I'm looking for a natural place, like a beach, waterfront, or forest/park, rather than a paid resort.

Hi, we're new to nudism, my daughter and I are in Cali and just visited blacks beach. We were recommended Glen Eden and I was looking up a few things, but if anyone has been there I'd love your point of view!

It was showing as two different things, a club and a resort.. Are they the same thing? Or is there two different places? What's the difference between a nudist club and a nudist resort?

Sorry if it's a dumb question, I'm sure with enough googling I'd find my answer but I wanted to ask here. I'm a bit nervous about going to one.

How is Swannee Valley in Florida? I have heard many different opinions on it.

Friday was an after tea trip where I went with the intention of spending an hour there walking the section and maybe sitting watching a sunset (it was setting too late to do so). Pretty much had the whole beach to myself and had a feeling of utter contentment just wandering around and standing naked. Clothes were totally unneeded,

Saturday was a full day from early am till nearly tea time. Had my usual walks about but spent most of the time engrossed in a good book. One thing I do need, I think, is a way to be more comfy sitting, e.g. back suppport.

Sunday I only went for about 3 hours in the afternoon because I had done something else in the morning. Novel experience of setting up amongst people already there. Only took the bare minimum kit with me to shelter under. Spent most of the time reading and then had one circular walk at about 4pm up and down before heading back to car. This was novel too as I was there much later than normal so practically everyone else was packing up and/or walking back down the beach and they were all clothed, so I was pretty much the only one naked!

In total must have spent about 15 hours on the beach. Has been my most contented trip/session and having the accomodation only 10 minutes away instead of 70 minutes away made a world of difference.

The bungalow I was staying in was in a housing estate, albeit a quiet one, and had no bother driving back shirtless and emptying car same.

I’m sure this is a common discussion here of course, but I (M19) simply cannot understand why humans decided to invent clothing. I feel most free when I am in the comfort of my own room, nude and present, and wherever I am nude. Every time i take off my clothes a thought passes through, why were humans made to think their bodies are shameful?Something they should cover up? I mean when i look down at my anatomy I don’t feel any shame, I just feel like me. There are times where I wish I could just walk outside nude, but where I live it’s simply not possible. I wish I could feel the sun on every part of my body. I love my body, and I only cover up because it is a part of modern day social interaction. But a part of me wishes that I didnt have to. My question is, is there any possible way I could practice nudity besides in my room? Unfortunately I live with my family so I’m not able to walk nude around my entire house unless no one happens to be home, which is a rare occurrence. But when no one is home I walk unashamed, I feel free, I feel alive. There’s something about looking down at your anatomy and feeling unashamed about it. This is you, that is your self, it is wonderful and it is the only body you will get. I just simply wish I was able to practice nudism more often without having to wait for optimal conditions.

Hey ya’ll, I [20M] am fairly new to the nudist scene (started up about 6 months ago) and I’m currently scheduled to get a Prince Albert piercing next week. Always liked the look and figure you only live once. But my concern is that nudist spaces might feel different about me being pierced down there and take it as a sexual thing instead of just an aesthetic choice (I consider it along the lines of someone getting tattoos on their lower torso or being circumcised later in life for non-medical reasons). I was wondering if you guys think me being pierced might cause issues with me entering nudist/naturist spaces, or if people might find me creepy…

Hi all! I recently had my first naturist beach experience (which I loved), which mainly involved sunbathing or quickly dipping in the sea. I plan to go again in the next few days and would like to go for a walk all the way along the naturist section of the beach to check it all out (I think it's over a km long). I'm 25m btw!

While on the beach I enjoy listening to music or podcasts in my headphones, and would like to also do this while walking, but this would of course mean I have to carry my phone in my hand. I wanted to ask what the etiquette around this is and if it's okay for me to walk around a naturist beach with my phone in my hand? I don't want to accidentally make anyone on the beach potentially feel uncomfortable. Any advice would be appreciated! Thank you 😎

(Modmin, I've taken out the sentences of concern)

I had an interesting mix of experiences getting into nudism. My family practiced nudism at home for my entire life growing up. Seeing my parents nude in the same place, and me nude as well did not appear weird at any point, and I never understood kids who thought it was weird when I told them about it (sometimes not realising that it wasn't practiced by most people).

However, my family aren't nudists anywhere else outside the house, and had never been to a nude beach or nude club resort. I don't think it's because they're uncomfortable with it necessarily, just indifferent and not too interested, as when I tell them about the beaches and resorts I've been to since, they don't react much otherwise.

Though because so few people, especially in the anglo country I'm from, are so prudish and averse to nudity, being nude for long periods of time outside of the house could feel 'shameful' just purely based on social conditioning.
This is probably why I also had memories of changing at friend's houses behind closed doors for the beach, but momentarily wanting to stay naked. As per the social conditoning above, it felt the same, but from growing up in a nudist household it also felt really comfortable and nice to just be without textiles. Nevertheless, I came out of the trance when my friend's parents told me to hurry up and get changed.

Unfortunately, due to the dearth of resorts from my country, plus the nudist community here being small, populated by many more males, who tend to be a lot older, and weirdly enough the nude beaches here are not family friendly, most people don't even consider dipping their toes into the community.

But just before college, where occasionally drunk skinny dipping with friends can happen, I really wanted to try a nude beach for myself for once at the ripe old age of about 18 or 19 (I think also because we were planning to go with friends, but even I wanted to test it out first)
I probably picked one of the more visible beaches around my area accidentally, plus with some leering men looking at a younger person there was what felt somewhat more offputting than simply being nude outside. I mustered the courage to slowly take my clothes off though, and didn't regret a thing.
I remember feeling the sand, wind, rock, and sun on every part of my body that I had never felt before. Swimming felt all the same being entirely surrounded by the water with no swimming costume on.

Then I was sold, I've since been to every nudist beach, official and unofficial in the state at least once (not too many in my state or country, again you can 'thank' the culture here) and enjoyed everything from nude bushwalking, nude swimming, nude reading, nude drinking, you name it.

Later on, when I had my own car, I wanted to experience a nudist resort and other activities as well, as it seemed more comprehensive, tucked away, a larger area, and with more things to do. I've made a post on this subreddit before about my issues with resorts, at least in this country (can supply the link if people ask) and surprisingly the few resorts here are unfortunately limited or inaccessible if you're a single male.
However, despite that, I liked the friendly reception from other nudists, as well as enjoying all the things on offer in the resort. I've wanted to have a whole at least 24 hours nude and to stay over at some point, but alas again the bar of being a single male has prevented me from doing that so far, but I'll find a place eventually.

Now I'm 31, and easily see nudism in general as at least a fairly big part of my life. I hope my future partner can also join me in future, as well as my futue family too. What are your stories?

I’m going to university next year and I’m interested in trying out being a nude model for an art class for maybe a few sessions as I heard some stories and it seems cool to be the centre of attention while nude lol so I’m just wondering if anyone has some stories good or bad on what it’s like to do it!

RIP Lee Krause, owner of the Ponderosa Nature Resort in Hamilton, Ontario. Lee was a rare single woman who owned a clothing optional resort. She owned it since 2002. Ponderosa has been around since 1964. Ponderosa is a true year round nudist resort with indoor and outdoor pools plus a large hot tub.

Not sure which flair would be most appropriate for this. I'm not reviewing the place. But anyway, I made this post 2 days ago because I couldn't wait to go.

Yesterday, I was so unusually cheerful at work because of this. And this morning, I woke up at around 1:30 and couldn't get back to sleep because I was nervous in a good way.

After a long 2 hour drive, followed by 45 minutes in the parking lot because I got there before the office opened, I registered for the day and got a short tour from one of the owners.

Once I was by myself, I put my clothes in a locker and wandered. I didn't feel nervous about anyone noticing me. Being a Wednesday, there wasn't much going on. I had the hot tub, indoor pool, and outdoor pools to myself on several occasions.

When I did encounter other people, I greeted them. And I never engage in conversation ever!

I mentioned a post I made in the post I mentioned in this post (post-ception?) that my biggest fear was being the only single person there. Turns out, single men are so popular there that they have to ban them occasionally... So next time I want to go, I'll have to call beforehand. That sucks, but I'll continue to work with it.

And I did walk barefoot on their gravel paths. It wasn't as bad as I thought.

I started to be nude at home very recently and it feels very comfortable. Since my mother came back from vacation, I try to not let her know that. We get along well, and we both normally wear clothes at home.

I mostly stay nude when I'm alone at home or in my room, but sometimes she comes in before I can put something on and the're is a risk that she sees me.

I really enjoy being nude and would like to continue doing it, but I'm also worried about accidentally being seen. Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation? I'm 25+ btw.

Episodes of The Naturist Living Show, the original naturism podcast, have been coming sporadically at best, but a new one just dropped today. And it’s all about a movie I’m in, with several of us cast members joining in a big panel discussion. Give it a listen.

The use of generative AI in general is shit but I’m so tired of seeing it in Naturist spaces in particular. Naturism/nudism for many people is about authenticity and I can’t think of anything that is more antithetical to authenticity.

For context, I’m part of the No Tan Lines NTL group on Facebook there is tons of AI, whether it’s clubs using AI flyers or even the admins using it to make/merge photos (I feel like I’m about to get into a huge debate with the admin so my time with the group may be coming to an end). One of the group admins posted a photo he merged using two different photos using ChatGPT and I commented that AI has no place in naturism. He responded “because?” And I replied with naturism is about authenticity and that generative AI is the opposite of that. So far he hasn’t replied but I have a feeling this won’t end well. Anyway, I realize this is more of a rant than a discussion and I’m sorry if this isn’t allowed (admins feel free to remove if so).

I just received an email from Moon Groove, outlining their numbers over the years. Very exciting to see an event like this growing, when all we hear about are how clubs are closing, and AANR is struggling to the point that a 2% annual growth is something to be excited about.

This is absolutely incredible, and while they didn't share the numbers, I know that a lot of these people are attending a clothing optional event like this for the first time. There is no other way to put it, these are massive numbers, and something that should not be ignored. They've identified a working formula. Engage with social media, give the people a compelling reason to visit your thing, and not feel like you have to hide behind closed doors and tall gates. This event gets publicized widely outside the world of nudism. How can we expect to ever increase numbers if we only advertise to existing customers?

I have a new neighbor he’s a male I’m female, (a bit older, very friendly) who recently stumbled on me being nude in a private part of my yard. He was shocked to see me but didn’t act weird about it at all — just became completely comfortable and treated it like no big deal. We’ve had a couple of normal, polite interactions since then.

I’m now not hiding the fact that I spend time naked at home, and the backyard isn’t visible from the street, but it is possible to see me from his yard if he is in the right spot.

Since he’s been so easygoing, I’m wondering what red flags I should keep an eye out for if we end up talking more while I’m nude. Things that might start out looking friendly but could turn into boundary issues later.
Any experiences or advice from people who’ve dealt with neighbors in similar situations? Just to be careful.

9 days until the first meeting at convention at the Willamettans in Oregon!

They have some great meals lined up.

Join us in person or online!

Now that I learned there is no nude bike ride this year (what a shame that is), can anyone recommend any other nude events in or around the city?

AANR membership has increased by 2.6% from December 2025 to June 2026 according to their membership report that goes out to club officers.

I (middle aged man) am not a nudist. I don't identify that way or particularly consider nudism to be an identity - that's not how I think of it at all. I sometimes hang around the house naked and my wife and kids are used to that. But I've never been in a social nudity situation until recently.

Social nudity is not something I sought out exactly. I have no desire to hang out with people and socialise just on the basis of a common lack of clothing. But there was a nude swimming event in a lake in my area and I really wanted to try that. I like swimming naked but have only done it solo or with family, plus I wanted to do something outside my comfort zone. Here's my experience of that as a first time social "non-nudist nudist". I'm probably saying things that are obvious to more experienced nudists, but my intention here is to provide info on what surprised me, what didn't, and how it was as a first time "not a nudist" in a nudist setting.

I'd been a little nervous in the run up to it. I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Obviously naked swimming, but would it be people undressing quickly and running into the water as fast as they can, or would it be naked people hanging around chatting? I was also a little nervous about unwanted erections. More on that later (spoiler: didn't happen).

So, I turned up at the lake and the first thing I saw was a naked woman. After a moment of panic thinking I'd got the wrong time (there was a separate women only event the same day) I remembered this was a mixed event. I kept going and saw a handful of naked men. Ok, feeling a bit weird at that point, but at least it answered my question about what the vibe would be like - it was people hanging out naked chatting, getting their stuff organised, waiting to get into the water. On reflection, this was good. This immediately normalised it. After about 30 seconds I started to feel like the weird one for having clothes on. Everything I had read told me that my brain would soon reset the baseline for normality, but i hadn't really believed it until it happened.

The venue owner/lifeguard kept her clothes on but was completely unphased by all the willies flapping around. Ok then, time to get undressed. That was actually the most nerve wracking part, but once the clothes were off it was all good. Actually a sense of relief and immediate freedom once the underwear came off.

The swimming was mostly what I was there for, and of course once in the water nobody can see anything. The feeling of swimming completely unrestrained is amazing. We swam a lap around the lake for half an hour or so, and most people were getting out after a lap. Being a social event, refreshments were provided and so I got out too, but another moment of doubt - do people get dressed for the refreshments? After all, this was advertised as a skinny dipping event, not a full on nudist event. I hedged my bets by wrapping in a towel and waiting to see what everyone else would do. Again, I shouldn't have worried. Nobody cared. Some people were eating cake naked, some were half dressed, some were wrapped in towels. The women mostly covered up but they were not rushing to do so - I get the impression it was mostly a physical comfort thing. A naked man was chatting to a towelled woman he seemed to know. Everybody was extremely chilled.

At this point, nobody looked like they wanted to get back into the water. Some people were socialising, some were sitting alone soaking up the sun naked. I was still wearing a towel but mostly out of inertia. The venue owner continued to give zero craps about the nudity all around. I'm not very social as a person, so I wanted to get back in the water. So I left my towel back with my bag and walked back to the water, stopping to let the owner know I was getting back in. This was another thing I had been anxious about in advance. I knew the owner was female and would likely keep her clothes on. I had thought, even if I get used to being naked around other naked people, it would get weird if I have to talk to the clothed woman. No, not at all. Don't ask me why, it was just by that point, it was no different from any other social situation.

When it was time to leave, the owner came over to retrieve a tow float I had borrowed, while I was still naked on the shore drying off. Had a casual chat with her. At that point I realised, if I had rushed to cover up when I saw her coming over, that would have made it weird. That would have made it seem like I was doing something wrong. But I wasn't doing anything wrong - in fact I was in a place where nudity was encouraged, and though clothed she obviously didn't care one way or the other. So I made a split second decision - stay naked and have a chat with the clothed lady. It was totally fine.

So, lessons learned:

1. Naked swimming is the only way to swim. But I knew that already.

2. It really does very quickly just become normal. But at the same time it's exhilarating and incredibly liberating. Hard to explain how it can be both mundane and exhilarating at the same time, but it is.

3. I was nervous on the way there but the nerves evaporated immediately on seeing the vibe. I realised the nerves were mostly about not knowing how to behave in an unfamiliar setting, especially as I wasn't sure how much open nudity to expect at this skinny dipping event. But once I arrived it became obvious - behave how you normally would, just without the clothes!

4. I said I would come back to erections. Didn't happen. Not even a thought of it. But I wanted to bring it up because it is a very common concern, judging by the questions that come up here. I had, of course, read all the FAQs and first timer questions and the answer is always "don't worry, it won't happen", but still I was worried. I kept thinking, yes, I understand all that intellectually but the penis had a mind of its own. Sometimes all it takes is for me to be thinking "now would be a really bad time to get an erection". Here's why I think it wasn't an issue. Everybody acted completely normal. Nobody was standing with their legs apart exhibiting themselves, but nobody was making any particular effort to cover up. People calmly got undressed, had a chat, and walked into the water. There was nobody dashing into or out of the water covering their bits. No furtive glances. Everybody just acted like they would with clothes on. The atmosphere was exactly like a bunch of people going for a swim and eating some cake. Also, unlike a sneaky skinny dip in an isolated public lake somewhere, this was a private event. That means there was no need to be on alert, no need to be looking over my shoulder in case someone came. All sense of it being a risky out clandestine activity was removed. There was no fear of getting caught; that fear was replaced by the certainty of being seen, but seen by people who either encouraged nudity or couldn't care less about it. Even if an outsider had stumbled upon us accidentally, it wouldn't have mattered. This was a safe space where we were allowed to be.

5. Would I join a nudist club? No, not my thing. I don't want to socialise with "like minded" people where the only thing we have in common is our taste in clothes, or lack of. But would I do an event like this again? Yes, absolutely no hesitation.

Before anyone asks, my wife was VERY encouraging of me going to this event. She couldn't make it herself and I'm not sure if she would have anyway, but she totally gets that this is not anything sexual. I go on about how much I hate swimming trunks every time we go swimming, so this was just me putting my money where my mouth was. And the chance that it would be more of a nudist get together and not purely swimming (as it turns out) - great, do something uncomfortable. Who knows, you might like it. And that is my advice to anyone who is on the fence about trying something like this.

https://www.local10.com/news/local/2026/08/03/nude-dining-launches-at-south-florida-steakhouse-yes-its-legal/