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Home > Regional info > Pacific Northwest > Washington > Seattle > Seattle Free Beach Campaign > Magnuson Beach Bares

See also Seattle Free Beach Campaign (wiki site) and the official pictoral site at SeattleBeaches.org.

See also Seattle Swims (wiki site) and the official pictoral site at SeattleSwims.org for other Seattle Swim events.

See also Friends of Disco Beach.

Site map

• Main page (you are here)
• MBB Signup Survey You can also print out a version from this PDF.
• Archive
  • Time Line Includes information on clothing-free use as reported in interviews done by MBB organizers and others as well as information about developments in the park that affected such use.
  • Coverage Press, media and blogging coverage of MBB
  • Past events Event reports
• Discussion pages. As the main pages are only editable by users with Sysop privileges, other users can discuss the pages and suggest changes on this page. Feel free to discuss anything relating to MBB events and issues.
  • Talk:Magnuson Beach Bares
  • Talk:MBB Archive

Upcoming events

See the PNW calendar for other events

• Jul 29, 2007 Sun 2nd Annual Potluck/BBQ Social with the Magnuson Beach Bares and NAC
• Aug 11, Sat. Sustainability Arts Festival (tentative name only) Green Sustainability/Arts Festival at Magnuson Park in Seattle - Stay tuned for updates NEW!
• Aug 11, Sat. Free Body Culture (tentative name only) at Magnuson Park in Seattle - Stay tuned for updates NEW!
• Aug 11, Sat. Hemp Ride in Seattle NEW!

Join/contact us!

Keep MBB informed

Fill out the Web form

To indicate you are interested in working with Magnuson Beach Bares to create a clothing-optional beach in Magnuson Park, please fill out the form at the SeattleSwims.org web site using the form on the right side of the page. Make sure you select "SFBC" from the pull-down menu and put in your e-mail address.

Fill out the Official MBB Sign up and Survey form

If you wish to be actively involved in promoting the development of clothing-optional beaches in Seattle, we would like to ask you to provide us with some info about yourself. This information is absolutely essential in building up our new user group, Magnuson Beach Bares (MBB). All skinny-dippers are encouraged to join in and contribute in whatever way they feel comfortable. This information will not be sold, given to ANYONE else, or otherwise misused. If you'd rather, please feel free to simply contact Storey or Johnson more informally to explain how you would most like to get involved.

Physical form

Download, printout and give us a physical copy of the sign up form. Make more copies (use double-side copying) and distribute in skinny-dipper friendly venues and events! Return to MBB coordinators otherwise we don't know these people exist.

• MBB Signup form (48 KB Adobe PDF format)

Cut and paste e-mail form

• Visit the MBB Signup Survey page to find an online page where you can copy questions from the signup/survey form and paste in a reply e-mail to one of the MBB coordinators.

E-mail contact info

You can also contact organizers via e-mail at

MBB Wiki discussion page

Discuss issues, encounters, experiences, concerns, and suggest changes for this site on the Talk:Magnuson Beach Bares page.

Seattle Beaches Discussion Group

Join the Seattle Beaches Yahoo! Group for broader discussion and information about promoting the development of clothing-optional beaches in Seattle.

Arguments for use

While Magnuson Park has many areas that are most likely being used for skinny-dipping, one area in particular, about an eighth to a quarter of a mile long (this needs to be figured out), north of the main Swimming Beach at Magnuson Park, south of the Dog Off-leash Area, just off the Lake Shore Promenade, has a very high potential for protection as a designated or unofficial clothing-optional area and environmentally responsible development for the following reasons:

Location

The 350-acre Magnuson Park complex itself [1] has an amazing combination of features and activities. The fact that the shoreline has an amazing view on a relatively warm water Lake Washington, very good accessiblility (parking lot, slightly wheelchair accessibile in some areas, proximity to major Burke-Gilman Trail bikeway, and bus routes (see directions)), its accessibility and proximity to important urban/cultural centers (such as The University of Washington, U-Village) would soon become a more popular destination for the college crowd to participate.

Remoteness and privacy

it is just remote enough to have some privacy, which could be enhanced by minor changes in Parks maintenance and by replacing non-native invasive weeds with suitable natives. It is also possible to improve areas for sunbathing; and above much of the shoreline are grassy areas, some large enough for a possible volleyball setup.

Tradition of clothing-optional use

The area has a long history of clothing-optional use in the past (See Timeline) and acceptance of current family-friendly clothing-optional use, when done responsibly, is very high.

Safety considerations

Shoring debris

Much of the shoreline is free of shoring debris, presumably dumped in long ago to help keep the shore from eroding. Unfortunately, the people who added the debris picked dangerous material sometimes. As the shoreline progresses north from the main Swim Beach, one is more likely to encounter abandoned dangerous metal/wires/concrete junk in the water. Swim at your own risk in these areas! Ideally these areas will be budgeted for clean up in the future.

Broken glass

Watch out also for occasional pockets of broken glass (another good reason to keep your glass containers off the beach). Bring your sandals!

Dogs

Fido and his friends are on the loose! Seemingly a quarter to a third of the dog owners here allow their dogs to wander around the beach, even off leash. Watch for an occasional pile of dog poop (the majority of dog owners clean up after themselves). Unfortunately, while some MBB associates are ok with dogs present, enough users have complained to coordinators of having their areas trampled, their food licked, their personal space and comfort zone disturbed that we will have to speak up about this in the future.

• As a reminder, The City has signs posted in the park explaining that dogs are not allowed on Seattle beaches [2]. Unleashed dogs at the beach may thus draw the attention of authorities who might otherwise not feel the need to respond to reports of naked people swimming or sunbathing. Please leave your dogs home for MBB events and in consideration of other shoreline users during other times. Fines for off-leash, license and scooping violations range from $50 to $150, and can be $500 at a beach. Ouch!

Suggested changes

• Proper signage; Parks Dept. maintenance adjustments; increased cooperation between responsible self-policing user groups and the City, as well as landscape design, should have a positive effect on undesireable behavior and activities in the park that might otherwise drive responsible users away.
• Develop/redesign the area to the south by landscaping the area with natives, removing blackberries and other non-native weeds. The area seems to be neglected maintenance- and litter-wise. Much of the area is left barren with only long grass and weeds. Plant some colorful natives. We need to organize regular volunteer cleanup efforts with the City.
• Shoreline improvements. There is also the possibiliy to improve the shoreline for swimming (examples of which can be seen at the off-leash dog beach to the north, a newly planted area just to the south that has had some erosion-control work, and the main Swim Beach to the south). Improvments requiring heavy earth equipment and/or barges would require vast amounts of money.
  • Replace dangerous shoring material in certain areas with safer materials
  • Visualize sandy beaches.

Legality and police involvement

Responsible skinny-dippers, their friends and family, want to avoid being hassled by police. Part of the problem is that remote places like this also attract people who are engaged in other activities that some or many may find objectionable. These secondary activities also tend to draw attention to harmless sunbathing and skinny-dipping. This is why it is so important for us to always be on our best behavior. Here is what we have heard so far:

• Some users have reportedly been sporadically cited by police in the past (we have two sketchy confirmations of this). No arrests have been reported, but our information is limited.
• Mike, one of the long-time beach users, claims that possibly around 2003 or so he saw a SPD Harbor Patrol boat which seemed to be monitoring activities along the shoreline. Actively searching for nudity in the Parks would be a bit ironic for this unit because their headquarters is adjacent to Gas Works Park (See picture), a park with one of the highest levels of accepted nudity in the City. This individual also believes that the Harbor Patrol were communicating with individuals onshore which appeared to be plain-clothed officers which were checking out each of the small lake access points in the area. However, this person didn't notice anybody getting cited or arrested from where he was. (Interview with Mike on 2 Sept 2006)
• People currently use the beach topfree and clothes-free without any problem. Some have suggested that skinny-dippers may want to inform clothed shoreline users of their intention to skinny-dip in the area. Most reportedly do not mind the nudity. Some may appreciate being informed of nude use, especially when there is no signage or they are not accustomed to skinny-dipping or sunbathing.
• Non-lewd nudity is not illegal in Seattle. See also Seattle history for more information.

External Links

• Friends of Magnuson Park Formed primarily to fight huge sports field complex at Magnuson
• The Citizens Paln for Magnuson Park (site is out of date) and
• Sand Point News Archive.

Art credit

Logo design by Daniel Johnson, photographs by Richard C.