CALIFORNIA 2007-2008
State Parks
The Naturist Action Committee is focusing on naturist issues involving State Parks in California.
- In 2006, Torrey Pines Supervising Ranger Jody Kummer ordered the placement of signage forbidding nudity. The anti-nudity sign, which is identical at the north and south ends of the beach
, makes no mention of the accommodation for nudity that has been in place for years. Of the wording of the sign, Lloyd Johnson of Black's Beach Bares has said, "It implies a stronger
position than the Cahill Policy allows, and it encourages user conflict."
Since the posting of the signs, no specific operational differences have been observed by naturists at the beach. However, the matter of encouraging user conflict is significant. Johnson believes that uninformed users will see the sign, see those who are nude on the beach, and feel obligated to make a report to the park rangers. The Cahill Policy allows nudity to be suspended when a complaint is made, even in a traditional clothing-optional area.
- The Cahill Policy was actually invoked by a ranger at Black's in the summer of 2007. Claiming he had received a complaint, the ranger closed the beach to nudity for the remainder of the day.
Torrey Pines State Park (Black's Beach)
Long recognized as a jewel of West Coast free beaches, Black's Beach remains as popular as ever. The
Naturist Action Committee works closely with Black's Beach Bares, the resident naturist user group.
Despite a generally good relationship with the rangers and management of Torry Pines State Park,
naturists have recently found themselves faced with a couple of puzzling developments.
NAC and Black's Beach Bares are pursuing both developments with regional officials of CA Parks.
San Onofre State Park
The clothing-optional beach at San Onofre State Park benefits from a strong user group, Friends of San Onofre, which is headed by Naturist Action Committee board member Allen Baylis. Baylis's preecessor
was former NAC board member Marianna Handler. The group works closely with park officials to maintain a good relationship with rangers and their supervisors. Nevertheless, an occasional ranger will
go beyond established protocol to make things difficult for selected members of the beachgoing public.
Camp Pendleton, a training base for US Marines, abuts the clothing-optional beach. Those who cross
the clearly marked fence and stray onto the military property are subject to prosecution on federal trespassing charges.
Gaviota State Park
Clothing-optional use is traditional at a portion of Gaviota State Park that is sometimes called, confusingly, San Onofre Beach. With the encouragement of the Naturist Action Committee, a group of
beach stewards has formed under the leadership of NAC Area Representative Dennis Smith. Friends of Gaviota, as the group is known, has met with park managers. Working closely with NAC, members of
FOG seek to preserve nude use of the beach.
Auburn State Recreation Area (American River)
In 2006, management of Auburn SRA threatened an end to traditional clothing-optional use on the
American River, near the site of an abandoned dam project. Rangers had even announced a date on which they were going to post "NO NUDITY" signs and begin issuing citations.
The Naturist Action Committee issued a NAC Action Alert, asking concerned naturists to contact CA
Parks officials and attend a workshop session to establish items to be addressed by the park's Management Plan. The response was gratifying, and the plans to stop nude use on the River were scrubbed. (See this NAC Update and this NAC Update).
In 2007, State Park planners held a second workshop, and once again, a timely NAC Action Alert produced numerous naturist particpants. (See NAC Update).
Grey Whale Cove State Park
Although no longer managed privately, Grey Whale Cove remains open to clothing-optional use.
Fort Ord (Planned State Park)
This park is still in its planning stage, but public response to a NAC Action Alert issued in 2003 flooded CA Parks with comments supporting the inclusion of nude recreation in the General Management Plan of the new park. NAC continues working with CA Parks to make this a reality.
Coastal Dairies (Proposed State Park)
Located in Santa Cruz County, this cluster of properties was long owned privately. It was acquired in
1998 by the nonprofit Trust for Public Land. In 2006, the Trust turned over 5,700 acres of inland property to the US Bureau of Land Management and assigned 407 acres of coastal land to the State of
California. Pending the availability of funding, the State has indicated it will operate the coastal area as a state park. Included in the affected stretch between Scott Creek and Four Mile Beach are several areas
that are traditional clothing-optional sites. Those include Panther Beach and Bonny Doon Beach.
Federal Units located in California
Angeles National Forest
In 2006, a nude hiker in Angeles National Forest was cited by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies under Section 314.1 of the California Penal Code, which is the state's indecent exposure law. California
attorney Allen Baylis, who is a director of the Naturist Action Committee, challenged the citation in a strongly worded letter to the L.A. County Sheriff. The Sheriff's Department issued a letter in response,
confirming that "simply hiking in the forest, in the nude, is not a violation of the law."
Click here for a copy of the L.A. County Sheriff's letter. [PDF format 881K]
Local Beaches
Bates Beach
The Naturist Action Committee vigorously supports the local efforts of the Southern California Naturist
Association to reclaim portions of Bates Beach in Santa Barbara County as a clothing-optional site. Bates has a long history and tradition of nude use that was abruptly terminated in the 1990's. It's
important that naturist citizens be allowed to enjoy a portion of the the public beach.
Local Ordinances
City of Huntington Beach
The Naturist Action Committee vigorously opposed the adoption in 2007 of an anti-nudity ordinance in
Huntington Beach. Although NAC was able to get some small revisions made to the proposed ordinance, it was passed in August, 2007.
State Legislature
The California legislature meets from January 7, 2008 through August 31, 2008. Bills from 2007 DO carry over to the 2008 session. Prefiling of bills is not available.
The NAC board member responsible for California is Allen Baylis.
View the state laws for California.
© 2007 Naturist Action Committee, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.