Conference moira::naturism

    
        
    The best clothing-optional beach in New England was, in my opinion,
    Moonstone Beach in Rhode Island. It is a long stretch of beach that
    has the ocean on one side and a wildlife refuge on the other. It
    is particularly nice shortly after sunrise when there's practically
    noone else there...what a spectacular environment !
    
    Unfortunately, it has become so popular within the last few years that
    it now costs $20 to park your car ! Some may argue that this was done
    to limit possible damage to the environment but I say it's greed.
    
         It's time for me to find a new place in the sun.      
    

The article below appears in today's (February 4) Boston Globe.

Looks like about 2,500 people have to go someplace else!  Which is
not easy, considering the number of public clothes-optional beaches
in New England (it ain't Europe).  

It's an interesting dilemma for naturists, who generally take good
care of the environment.  For this reason it's upsetting to see the
last sentence of the article.  Maybe the closing didn't have to happen,
or maybe it resulted partially from the massive overcrowding and probably
insufficient sanitary resources available.  Maybe it was partly political,
the poor piping plover notwithstanding.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Beach's new dress code:  Feathers are required"


Nudists who regularly doff their clothes on Moonstone Beach in South
Kingstown, RI lost a hard-fought battle to four piping plovers
yesterday when the US Fish and Wildlife Service granted the birds
exclusive summer rights to the beach.

"Any time you close a beach you're bound to be unpopular, but we're
dealing here with the survival of a species," said Charles W. Blair,
manager of the Trustom Pond National Wildlife Refuge that includes
Moonstone Beach.  His decision to close the beach was detailed in a
federal environmental assessment made public yesterday.

Moonstone was the last public beach in New England for nudists, who
numbered up to 2,500 on hot summer days last year and who voluntarily
kept to 700 feet of the one-and-one-half mile barrier beach.

The beach is also the only New England nesting site for the piping
plover, a small whistling sea bird that is federally protected as an
endangered species.  Twelve least terns, a species presently under
consideration for federal protection, also nest on Moonstone Beach.

The beach will now be closed each year from April 1 to Aug 31 during
the nesting season for the threatened birds.  But the nudists maintain
that they are a threatened species, too.

"Our board of directors will be meeting shortly to decide what course
of action to take and we'll explore every viable alternative,": said
Sarah Myszewski, spokeswoman for the Providence-based New England
Naturist Association, whose members also migrate to Moonstone each
summer.

The proposal to close the beach, not only to nudists but also to
residents of South Kingstown, has been under consideration for three
years.  South Kingstown has since purchased a nearby beach for its
residents.

The decision to close was detailed in a federal environmental
assessment made public yesterday.  It follows an extensive comment
periods that included harsh criticism of the plan by many users during
a public hearing last June.

"This decision reflects our legal mandate to protect wildlife," Blair
said in as telephone interview, adding that last summer the two pair
of plovers laid eight eggs that were destroyed at Moonstone by
animals presumably thriving on trash that humans left behind.
-----------------------------------------------------

    I went to Martha's Vinyard a few years ago and found a beach at
    Gay Head (this is the real name and not a connotation). 
    
    This is probably one of the nicest beaches I've been to. It has
    cliffs that run down to the ocean and in one place there was a natural
    mudbath that was fun to sit in.

    reply to 11.2
    
    Hampton Beach would be ideal ! 
    
    In a way I'm joking but then again why not ? Tourist trade would
    increase outrageuosly. Imagine clothing-optional on the North side
    of the beach.
    
    In some countries there are entire towns that are clothing-optional.
    

   RE: .5
    
    Imagine (for those of use who work in the area)...
    
    Go to the beach all day, get dinner, and then work second shift...

   RE: .6

       as a second shift person i can relate to this!

                      tlr

    RE:.6
    
           This is why I work 2nd shift! I get the sun and the relaxation
          into my system and the nights just fly by! And it feels good to
          see how all the *regular workforce* envies me when they find that
          I've been in the sun all day with no inhabitions about clothing
          and no stress. Some think I jest but I've been known on occasion
          to slide the waistband of my jeans down just a hair to prove that
          there are no tan lines. You can see the jealousy etched in their
          faces and maybe catch a thought emitting from them that they wish
          they could be as free!!
    
    Tom

    The beach at Gay Head (Martha's Vineyard) is also known as Zack's
    Cliffs.  It's a great place to go soak up sun.
    
    Dave 

    Since we have a separate Moonstone Beach topic (notes 25.*), let's
    post future Moonstone notes there, and keep this topic for
    additional New England beaches. 
    
    Thanks.
    
    	-Neil (moderator)

A pleasant and unexpected find!

We spent the weekend on Nantucket, and discovered what may be the best clothing-
optional beach in New England!  I jokingly asked the hotel staff where the nude
beach was, since my beachwear was lost with my luggage somewhere between Boston
and Nantucket, and found that the only beach they go to is also the closest
south shore beach to town.

Positive:

+	Wide beach -- 100 yards from the dunes to the shoreline.
+	Beautiful clean soft sand.
+	Warm water (by New England standards) -- far enough out to get a bit of
	the Gulf Stream, and on the island's south shore, so sheltered from the
	Arctic current that makes most Massachusetts beaches so cold.
+	No drop off -- I could go twenty yards from shore and only be in water
	up to my chest.
+	Legal -- indicated as "naked beach" in island map books
+	The entire island of Nantucket is beautiful!

Negative:

-	Sand vehicles allowed (4WD jeeps and trucks)
-	No real indication of where the clothing-optional part begins and ends
	in the area between Surfside Beach and Cisco Beach (a distance of four
	miles of perfect beach) resulting in:
-	Lots of peepers, especially kids in sand vehicles, with cameras and
	binoculars
-	Walk through traffic shocked to see naked bodies (some folks from
	Connecticut called me an exhibitionist while I was standing in the surf)
-	Near the island's sewer beds, resulting in unpleasant odors when the
	wind is from the northeast
-	Nantucket is expensive to get to, stay on, and dine on.

The positives outweigh the negatives, and we, too, decided it was the only
beach to go to, and have made our reservations for Labor Day weekend!

/john

    I stumbled onto this beach on July 2nd.  I second all the things in
    .13, especially the kids in the jeeps.  I didn't see any cameras or
    binoculars, however.  I did give them some rather nasty looks.  This
    was my first experience with a clothing-optional beach (I've been
    skinny-dipping for years, but never in a legal place, and almost always
    at night) and I can't wait to go again.  The greatest thing about the
    experience was a nude fisherman.  I love to fish but didn't bring any
    equipment so I couldn't try it but I will before long!
    
    Tim Lucia
    

    Fishing nude sounds almost as dangerous as frying bacon while nude.
    Ouch watch that hook!
    
    -j

    I'll be careful.  Of that you can be sure!
    
    Tim
    

    
      Well, its becomming summer again, and time to return to Martha's
    Vinyard.  However, for a day trip, it is quite expensive, considering
    the ferry.
    
      Does anyone know of any other New England C/O Beaches? (preferably
    ocean beaches)
    
      Also, does anyone know how the sale of a large part of the Indians
    land in Gay Head may affect the Beach.
    
      Its a definite shame that people have to be so narrow minded that
    out of hundreds of miles of beaches, there isn't any that people
    can go to to relax in a C/O atmosphere without being harrassed.
    
      If I were only rich, I'd buy a large beach for everyone!
    
    Paul

There's also Miacomet beach on Nantucket, but the ferry ride is also $$$.  I'm
considering camping there for a weekend to cut down on the cost.  Also, the
earliest ferry plus bike/mopeding time gets you there later than I like to get
to the beach.

Tim

ps-there's also the ledges in VT but that's not salt water/ocean

On the subject of cost, etc. to get to the islands, maybe we could charter a
boat to leave early enough and drop us off on/near the beach.  Then we could
be nude on the boat as well!  Or, if some amoung us are lucky enough to have
a boat capable of making the trip, we could all contribute to gas/etc.

    This, having Moonstone closed, is driving me crazy.  I just got
    into nude sunbathing last year, I live down near RI and Moonstone
    was perfect for me.  Now, it looks like all we've got for options
    are the Ledges, and Soliar.....and I *hate* swimming in lakes/ponds.
    
    I'm *very* frustrated, to say the least!

    I heard from some of the NENA people that they were planning on using
    the portion of the beach nearest Roy Carpenter's Beach.  People have 
    always use the beach right where the fence ends, because then they have
    a big area that is away from the water.  I'm not sure if it intrudes
    on the private property or not.
    
    B.

    re: .20
    
    I know what you mean...  I much prefer the ocean to lakes and ponds
    as well.
    
    re: .21
    
    I think that *is* private property, Ben, but maybe the owner doesn't
    mind.  I think people from Moonstone wandered over there in the past
    anyway, but now that it's closed there probably won't be too much
    room in that small area between R.C.'s beach and Moonstone for very
    many people.
    
    Oh well, maybe it's not so grim, folks.  I have a funny feeling that
    as a result of Moonstone closing, we'll be seeing a few new C/O beaches
    springing up.  Keep the faith.  After all, the summer isn't here yet.
    There's still time.
    
    - K
    

Last summer was my first as a naturist, and while I have never been to
Moonstone, I generally prefer locations where if one wanted to, one could
get out of the sun, and I have become partial to the Ledges.  I like the
feeling of the woods being nearby and to me it seems more natural.  Hope-
fully this year (won't be long now!) I can make it to some of the other
spots in the area.

And as a new member to NENA, I hope to contribute to the efforts to save
Moonstone, though and perhaps attend or perhaps open other sites.


Jim

    
    I'd love to see more (salt-water) beaches open up to naturists,
    but I'm not one to take a stand or seek confrontation.  So...
    how do we get more beaches to open up, if a lot of folks feel 
    the way I do?
    
    Sue

    
    
    In times like these, (economically I mean) I would say some open
    minded city or town my consider sectioning off a part of their
    ocean front property to naturists, if it was controlled.
    
    Moonstone provided the residents with quite a bit of income during
    the summer months.  Now, the city will loose all of that income.
    
    I think if a package were put together explaining the situation,
    documenting how uneventful c.o. beaches can be, and how much
    economical impact it could have, I'm sure some coastal town or
    city would go for it.
    
    If a beach were to open up, with strick rules laid down ahead
    of time (regarding littering, where the co parts start and end,
    NO sex on the beach, vendors ...) I think the economic impact
    (benifits) would greatly outweigh the number of complaints
    they would recieve from their local narrow minded (fill in the
    other explitives yourself) people.
    
    Now, any volunteers! 8^)
    
    Paul

    In my opinion, Gay Head is the best CO beach in New England (even
    though I get to Moonstone more often during the summer).  The beauty of
    the cliff and the warm water and big waves make it a great place.  The
    beach is in danger also, but for a different reason.  For many years
    the beach has been a quit, rather unknown nude beach.  But over the
    past 2 years it has become much more popular especially since the
    island land bank bought a small portion of the land.  The beach has
    become more and more 'textile' with nudist becoming a minority.  No
    one has ever hassled the nudist but its not the same when you are
    a minority among textiles.  Maybe with Moonstone in danger, Gay Head
    will be visited more (the indian land deal was at Jackie O's property
    quite a distance from the cliffs).  
    
    							Russ
    
    BTW - I can't believe that Moonstone will be lost without a big fight
                                                       

    
    I'm also a big Gay Head fan.  As a matter of fact, I just booked a
    house for a week on the island.  
    
    Although the number of clothed folkes on the beach is growing in 
    numbers, I'm not sure it is becomming a non c/o beach.  There have
    been no hassles that I know of of people without clothes.
    But then again, no one knows what the future will bring.  I really
    hope the clothing option will stay, I'm sure that this is what
    keeps the numbers of people down at the beach, since people may not
    want to frequent a c/o beach.  However, maybe the beach is becomming
    more popular with people who are clothed, because the growing
    number of people visiting other beaches in the area.
    
    I love alot of aspects about the beach, but one of my favorites is
    the fact that its fairly uncrowded, and a low number of kids without
    parents.
    
    Paul

What to do ...

Probably, anyone with a serious concern about Moonstone and other New England 
beaches should join NENA (New England Naturist Association -- see note 24).
I'm not convinced that NENA is always that effective or organizationally
astute; but it is, as far as I know, the *only* organization which is 
actively concerned with Moonstone specifically, and with other New England
beaches as well.

Where to go ...

What people are looking for, of course, are places where nudity is not only 
possible, but comfortable -- where it is socially and (more or less) legally
tolerated -- that everyone knows are nude beaches, and where you won't be
all alone.

Unfortunately, the only such places that I know of in New England are 
Moonstone, a collection of inland sites (almost all in Vermont), the area
nudist camps, and a couple of the islands.  I've never been to Nantucket or 
Martha's Vineyard, but from the notes in this conference it seems like 
Miacomet Beach on Nantucket (see notes 11.13 and .14) and Gay Head on 
Martha's Vineyard (see notes 11.4, .26, and .27) are the ones to choose.

But if you don't have the inclination for the boat trip, I think you have to 
compromise.  Either you give up salt water to keep the comfort factor, and go 
to the Ledges or a camp, or you start learning the relatively isolated beaches 
with a local tradition of nude use, where the risks seem to be reasonable.

I only know of two salt-water beaches that might fit this description in 
reasonable distance of Boston.  One is Plum Island / Parker Wildlife Refuge
in Newburyport, Mass (notes 225.*); the other is Drakes Island in Wells, Maine
(note 66.5).  (I believe there are some others if you're willing to go a
couple of hours farther up the Maine coast.)  Neither of these is anything
like a "legal" nude beach.  I've never been to Plum Island, but our family
goes to Drakes Island fairly often in the summer.  If you can be happy with
20 people around instead of 2000, and you don't mind the constant threat of
the local police showing up to tell you to "get dressed or get arrested",
it can be very nice.

Well, those are the choices I know of.

	-Neil

    re: -1
    
    Neil,
    I know some people who went to the Parker Wildlife Refuge on Plum
    Island and almost got into some serious trouble because of their
    nudity.  It seems that even though they went way down to the end
    where it was fairly isolated, some clothed beach-goers spotted them,
    got really upset and reported them to the authorities who promptly
    showed up and just about arrested them.  It was a pretty bad scene
    according to them, and they had their two small children with them
    to make matters worse.  Evidently some pretty strong language came
    from the authorities and the people who turned them in and the kids
    were really upset.  So much for a day at the beach...
    
    I've gone there myself, but never had the nerve to take it all off
    because nobody else did.  I'm a little nervous about being the first
    one to go ahead and do something in a situation like this.  At any
    rate, it's a nice beach if you can get there early enough (they close
    it off after a certain number of cars) and who knows - with Moonstone
    closing, something just *may* happen regarding the dress code.  After
    all, there's safety in numbers and if enough of us nudists showed up,
    *we'd* be in the majority and maybe less likely to be hassled.
    
    Just a thought...
    
    - K

My recommendation would be the Ledges in Wilmington Vermont.  From Maynard
its probably a bit more than 1.5 hrs (its about 2 1/4 hrs from my apartment
in Derry NH) but IMO its worth the trip.  Note 13 has directions, and note
that the water level is lower than usual for this time of year, leaving 
lots of sunning area.

I look forward to the drive up there each time so the driving time does not
bother me.


Jim

and see also the directory of "site report" notes, organized by state,
in note 7.2.

    According to Fodors (sp?) guide to the cape and the islands, Gay Head
    is a Resident (and guests of residents) ONLY beach.  Is this enforced?
    Is only part of the beach resident only?  I've yet to visit the beach
    at Gay Head but just booked a long weekend on the Vineyard for the week
    after next and would sure like to go to Gay Head (Everyone I know who
    has been there says it's the most beautiful beach in NE!)
    
    Tom

    The actual ownership of the beach is a long story that involves old
    indian treaties, court battles etc.  The beach, however, has always
    been available to the public (if you could find a place to park).  For
    many years it was a 'quiet' beach with the majority of people nude. 
    The last few years it has become much more popular with the main-stream
    Vineyard tourists and the CO folks have become more of a minority. 
    Also, last year the Vineyard Land Bank bought a small portion of the
    land (part of a deal with the Indians) and a portion of the beach is
    offically 'public'. 
    
         There is only 1 parking lot (owned by the Indians) which charges
    $10 a day on the weekend and fills up by 11:00 the latest.  In addition
    there is a bus that goes from Vineyard Haven to Gay Head but then you
    are restricted to the bus schedule.  
    
    Russ  

Being new to this conference, I'd like some directions.  My SO and I went 
to MV and checked out Gay Head.  I wasn't sure I'd found the beach (it 
wasn't warm enough to find it by looking for nude bodies..).  We drove 
out to where the lighthouse and the circular roadway is (they were paving 
the road), saw the beach at the base of the cliffs under the lighthouse, 
and then drove on down toward the Onassis place.  Was the c/o beach at 
the base of the lighthouse?  Is it still available/popular?  The last 
note prior to this one was in June, 1990!

Thanks,

Dave
  

You found the right place ...

Yes it is still clothing optional, and it is directly below the light
house (and goes further)

To get to the beach park in the lot on the corner of that road that goes
in a circle, and the road that takes a left.  (its a dirt parking lot and
is usually full)  You then follow the path out to the beach.  From there
once you get on the beach, take a right and  walk about 1/2 mile up the
beach to where it becomes clothing optional.

paul