San Francisco Bay Guardian

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When Red Rock Beach is crowded, a few naturists try Cross Rock's pebble-lined shore. The beach is so small that it usually remains underwater until late summer.  As for the trail, "you shouldn't even think about using it," counsels Red Rock regular Hugh Fullerton, who estimates the path's steepness at 45 degrees. At least one person has fallen from the cliffs.

Unknown, believed to be part of Mount Tamalpais State Park.

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The north end of McClures Beach, in Point Reyes National Seashore, has been visited by naturists for more than a decade.  But it usually isn't daily use.  For example, in 2000 and 2001, district ranger Marc Yeston counted four groups of nudists on the sand.  Frequent fog, wind, and hazardous waves, plus a moderately long hike from the end of Pierce Point Road, keep the turnout low, but they also help ward off tourists and law enforcers.

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Come soon or you may not be able to use Mount Vision Pond, in Point Reyes National Seashore, for either clad or unclad swimming.  The reason: it's been rapidly filling with vegetation and the federal government won't pay to clean out and fix the dam of this half-acre manmade site.  Instead, says ranger Marc Yeston, "it's going back to nature."  Authorities estimate the lake may not remain viable after 2012.

Property of Point Reyes National Seashore.Read more »

Want to make history all over again?  It's said that this is the place where British explorer Sir Francis Drake landed his Golden Hinde in 1579, although others think he came ashore in Bodega Bay, Tomales Bay, Coos Bay, or even Santa Barbara. Whatever the case, suitless sunbathing takes place on a spotty basis on the Point Reyes shore that "bares" his name, which is close to a memorial named after him.  The area is just north of Drake's Beach.

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Visitation has dropped at a place that Marinites call "The Pond," which is more of a hangout for sunbathing and socializing than swimming.  It's usually so polluted by mid-June that signs warn visitors to stay out of the water due to its high bacteria count. Read more »

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Improved directions!
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Hopefully, you won't be crazy enough to attempt to visit Little Stinson, a tiny beach sandwiched between Red Rock and Stinson Beach that's hard to reach and often covered by water. Over the years, the cave-like nook has become a hangout for a few nude gay men.

"It has more rocks than sand," says Red Rock Beach regular Fred Jaggi, of Stinson Beach.  "There's not much of a place to lie down." Read more »

Nude hot springs in the sea that hold 15 persons easily, 30 people who are crowded, or 40 who are jammed inside?  In the Bay Area, it's not a mirage or a scene from a porno movie.  Steep Ravine, located between Muir Beach and Red Rock, has two springs, one in the ocean and another on the cliffs.  "We trick it out in the winter, meaning we remove rocks that have been pushed by the storms and waves into the springs," says Martin, a regular visitor.  "On December 31, 2009, we had a great New Year's Eve get together in the late afternoon Read more »

Want to have a nice stretch of sand all to yourself?  Just south of Muir Beach and west of a hillside known as Coyote Ridge, a few people have started going nude at a gorgeous shoreline.  "I've gone three or four times with my girlfriend, who's been visiting it for years," says Alex Towery, of San Rafael.  "It's a little sandy cove and beach."  The hill is the first one south of the Muir Beach parking lot.  A pair of paths lead up the hill; one, called the Coyote Ridge Trail, is just east of the slope's ocean-facing edge, while Read more »

Conzelman Road is closed through September 2010, making access to Sausalito's West Bonita Beach impossible until then.  Although textile-less tanning is the main recreational sport at little West Bonita Beach, it's also a great spot to swim when there's no wind or undertow. However, even after the road reopens, the beach trail will still be closed, slippery, and dangerous.

Part of the GGNRA.Read more »

The main access road to Black Sand Beach, in Sausalito, is expected to remain closed for repairs until September 2010.  But when Conzelman reopens the mix of men and women and singles and couples who use the clothing-optional site are expected to return, even if its trail stays officially shut.  In fact, readers report that the days of having to scramble down the last 50 feet of the path are over.  "There's a 60-foot-long staircase," says East Bay resident Trevor Murphy.  "It's so easy that you could take your grandmother."  At Read more »