Nude Beach Guide – California
A Guide to Visiting a California Nude Beach
To find a nude beach in a California county, click on the county name below or go to our interactive nude beach map where you can choose your nude beach by location.
- Humboldt
- Los Angeles
- Marin
- Monterey
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Luis Obispo
- San Mateo
- Santa Barbara
- Santa Cruz
What’s the Best Nude Beach in California?
We’ve listed them all and you can find our readers’ favorites in each county when you go to that page, but we’re looking for the top nude beach in California. You can see what others think or express your own opinion. What is your favorite California nude beach?
Baker Beach, San Francisco | Blacks Beach, San Diego | Bonny Doon, Santa Cruz County | The Crater, Monterey County | Gaviota Beach, Santa Barbara County | Grey Whale Cove, San Mateo County | Guadalupe Dunes, San Luis Obispo County | Limantour Beach, Marin County | Pirate’s Cove (Avila), San Luis Obispo County | San Onofre Beach, San Diego County
Finding a California Nude Beach
To find a nude beach by name, enter the nude beach name in the search box above.
At least one nude beach or topless beach can be found in almost every county along the California coast. There are almost 50 places where nudity or topless sunbathing is allowed or tolerated. These nude beach locations include Blacks’ Beach, the most popular nude beach in the country and the nation’s oldest nude beach (San Gregorio, where people have been going topless since 1967).
Be aware that laws regarding nudity and behavior vary by location and fines for going topless (or all the way) are stiff in some places. I have made every effort to provide accurate nude beach information, but the responsibility for knowing the law is yours.
Please don’t be a gawker. If you’ve never been to a nude beach before, be respectful of others and read the Etiquette guidelines before you go and check the California nudity laws, too.
Nude Beach Index
Nudist ResortsOregon Nude BeachWashington Nude Beach
More Nude Beach Resources
Nudity Law IndexNude Beach and Nudism BooksNude Beach Etiquette
Be a Nude Beach Reviewer
Related Articles
- Humboldt County Nude Beach Guide – Find Humboldt County Nude Beach Location…
- Topless Beach – California topless beach map
- Santa Cruz County Beaches – guide to the best of Santa Cruz County Beaches
- San Diego County’s Cleanest Beaches
- California Coast Pictures
Guide since 1998
California Travel Guide
Must Reads
Essentials
- Photo Gallery
- California Weekend Getaways & Day Trips
- Vacation Planner Map
- Top Things to Do in California
- Driving from LA to San Francisco
<http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/clothingoptional/a/nudebeach.htm>
Nudist Beach Etiquette
A Guide to Nudist Beach Behavior
If you’ve never been to a nudist beach before, here are a few guidelines:
- Gawking is impolite. If you want to go to the nudist beach for a thrill, do everyone a favor and buy a magazine instead.
- Ask for people’s consent before taking their photograph nude.
- If you’re sunbathing nude in a secluded area, leave a bathing suit on a rock to let others know they are approaching an unclothed person. If you’re uncomfortable having your suit out of reach, bring a spare.
- On a wide open beach, position yourself in the open so you can see people coming and put something on before they get there if you need to.
- Get dressed before you leave the nudist beach.
- Be friendly, but respect others’ rights to privacy.
- Avoid sexual activity. It’s illegal and offensive.
- Advances of an unwelcome or unwanted nature are not acceptable anywhere, and especially at a nudist beach.
- Be Prepared. Sometimes, the nudist beach doesn’t have any amenities. Bring water, food, towel, sunscreen and anything else you need.
- Keep the nudist beach clean. If you carried it in, carry it back out.
- Know what the law is.
Nudist Beach Index
California Nudist Beach GuideNudist ResortsNudity Laws
More Nudist Beach Resources
California Nudist Beach MapOregon Nudist Beach GuideWashington Nudist Beach Guide
For the Nudist Beach Visitor
Submit a Nudist Beach ReviewNudist Beach and Nudism Books
Related Articles
- Celebrity Constellation Cruise Review of a Southern Caribbean Cruise – Part…
- How to Shoot Beach Portraits
- Top 10 Things Heterosexuals need to Know about Gay People
- Life’s a Beach in Hawaii – Part 2 – Our second collection of photos of …
- Virgin Islands Nude Beaches & Resorts
<http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/clothingoptional/a/nudebeachguide.htm>
Nude Beach Legal Issues in California
Is it legal to sunbathe in the nude at a California beach? Like many legal questions, the answer is “it depends”, in this case it depends on where you are:
- Federal Land and State Parks
- Los Angeles County
- Marin County
- Santa Barbara County
- San Diego City and County
- San Mateo County
Nude Beach Index
California Nude BeachesNudist Resorts
More Nude Beach Resources
Nude Beach and Nudism BooksNude Beach Etiquette
Be a Reviewer
Related Articles
- Virgin Islands Nude Beaches & Resorts
- Consider the Legal Issues when Selling or Buying a Home
- B2C E-Commerce and Online Retailing Problems and Legal Issues
- Beach Report - Filaki Beach – The only “Official” Nude Beach on C…
- Clothing Optional? Central Florida’s Nude Beaches
<http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/clothingoptional/a/nudebeachlegal.htm>
Nudity Laws
Federal Land and California State Parks
Federal Land
There is no Federal law against nudity but neither is it a guaranteed right. This means that state, county and local laws can take precedence.
California State Law
CALIFORNIA CODES SECTION 314-318.6 (as of 6/2000): Every person who willfully and lewdly, either: 1. Exposes his person, or the private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where there are present other persons to be offended or annoyed thereby; or, 2. Procures, counsels, or assists any person so to expose himself or take part in any model artist exhibition, or to make any other exhibition of himself to public view, or the view of any number of persons, such as is offensive to decency, or is adapted to excite to or thoughts or acts, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Every person who violates subdivision 1 of this section after having entered, without consent, an inhabited dwelling house, or trailer coach as defined in Section 635 of the Vehicle , or the inhabited portion of any other building, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or in the county jail not exceeding one year.
Upon the second and each subsequent conviction under subdivision 1 of this section, or upon a first conviction under subdivision 1 of this section after a previous conviction under Section 288, every person so convicted is guilty of a felony, and is punishable by imprisonment in state prison.
A 1972 California court case set the precedent that simple beach nudity is not indecent exposure. However, different localities have their own laws (notably Santa Barbara and Los Angeles Counties) and beach nudity will net you a citation and a fine with no questions asked.
State Parks
Section 4322 of Title 14 of the California Administrative Code regarding nudity in the state parks: No person shall appear nude while in any unit except in authorized areas set aside for that purpose by the Department. The word nude as used herein means unclothed or in such a state of undress as to expose any part of portion of the pubic or anal region or genitalia of any person or any portion of the breast at or below the areola thereof of any female person.
All sections are misdemeanors which carry a maximum punishment of 90 days in jail and/or $1,000 fine.
While this regulation allows for setting aside specific clothing optional areas, the parks department hasn’t taken advantage of the provision. State Park rangers have operated for many years under a policy known as the “Cahill” policy, named after a former Parks Director: “it shall be the policy of the Department that enforcement of nude sunbathing regulations within the State Park System shall be made only upon the complaint of a private citizen. Citations or arrests shall be made only after attempts are made to elicit voluntary compliance with the regulations.” However, when the Cahill Policy was written, the public stance on nudity was more liberal than it is now.
Since the people most likely to make a complaint are also the least likely to make an effort to get to a remote part of a state beach, those areas have become clothing optional. If you stay in those areas, you are unlikely to be bothered. However, if a ranger appears and asks you to put your clothes on, comply and stay clothed for the rest of the day to avoid a citation. If you cross the line from mere sunbathing to other activities, you can (and probably will) be prosecuted under California Penal Code Section 314, and a nyone convicted will carry a lifetime registration as a sex offender. The penal code states:
Every person who willfully and lewdly, either: 1. Exposes his person, or the private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where there are present other persons to be offended or annoyed thereby; or, 2. Procures, counsels, or assists any person so to expose himself or take part in any model artist exhibition, or to make any other exhibition of himself to public view, or the view of any number of persons, such as is offensive to decency, or is adapted to excite to vicious or lewd thoughts or acts, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Nude Beach Index
California Nude BeachesNudist Resorts
More Nude Beach Resources
Nudity Law IndexNude Beach and Nudism BooksNude Beach Etiquette
<http://gocalifornia.about.com/cs/clothingoptional/a/nudebeachfedst.htm>
[...] Nude Beaches Posted on June 4, 2008 by All Nudist This website, Bart’s News, contains a lot of info about where to bare it on the California coast, along with more [...]
Thanks “All Nudist” Nudist Webpages for noticing ‘California Nude Beaches, Etiquette, Laws, Resources’
Your welcome to copy, edit, and paste as necessary for your use, pages, or re-publishing [with credits]
DeltaSac or NakedGary
Be Nude, Be Natural, Be Free!