Seattle Free Beach Campaign
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Home > Regional info > Pacific Northwest > Seattle > Seattle Free Beach Campaign
Seattle Free Beach Campaign (SFBC) SeattleBeaches.org (official front end pictoral site).
- See also Seattle Swims (wiki site) and the official pictoral site at SeattleSwims.org for other Seattle aquatic events.
There currently are no officially-designated clothing-optional or nude beaches in the Greater Seattle area. However, there are several beaches and areas in public parks that are quietly being used clothes free by significant numbers of responsible citizens. Some people feel that these areas should not be publicized. Other areas, especially high-visibility locations, are only used nude during highly-publicized events.
We need to keep our momentum going, get even more organized and on the ball and approach Seattle the right way to get an officially designated beach for our use.
[edit] Getting involved and contact info
[edit] Keep SFBC informed
[edit] Fill out the Web form
To indicate you are interested in working with SFBC to create a clothing-optional beach in the Greater Seattle area, 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.
[edit] E-mail contact info
You can also contact organizers via e-mail at
[edit] SFBC Wiki discussion page
Discuss issues, encounters, experiences, concerns, and suggest changes for this site on the Talk:Seattle Free Beach Campaign page.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Public nude use of public Puget Sound locations
- See Washington places Includes beaches, parks and outdoor community spaces. Also discusses development of clothing-optional areas.
[edit] Groups
[edit] Beach user groups
- Magnuson Beach Bares - User group for Magnuson Park Beach shoreline
- Friends of Disco Beach - User group for Discovery Beach
- Friends of Secret Beach - User group for a secret beach on Lake Washington
[edit] Organizations involved
We are very lucky in the Greater Seattle area to have many different groups working together towards a common goal. Each group has a slightly different focus and approach to doing things.
[edit] Projects and Events
- See the PNW calendar for other events
- NAC Disco Beach Project NAC is working with the City of Seattle to organize four beach cleanups at Discovery Park in 2006
- WNBR Seattle WNBR Seattle advocates that all beaches be made clothing-optional in Seattle. WNBR has used many parks clothing-optional since 2004, including the Seattle Center's International Fountain and plans on more Parks stops and beach wade-ins during the summer. See the Seattle Wiki website for details on the route.
- BFC's Annual "Bare As You Dare" Community Polar Bare Dip. Since 2003, BFC has been holding clothing-optional dips in mid January (always at a different public beach in the Greater Seattle area) in honor of America's premier advocate of nude sunbathing, Benjamin Franklin, who was born in Boston on January 17, 1706.
- BFC's Free Beach Trilogy staged a set of four one-act plays (originally three) about nude beaches playing at the 2003 Seattle Fringe Theatre Festival.
- BFC's Mermaid Crossing - An open water swim in Seattle with kayak support provided by FKKayakers. If you have been involved with BFC events before, are an experienced open water swimmer who can easily swim 1.3 miles in water dipping into the 60s, AND you think doing so au naturel is fun, then contact Kathy Blanchard or Mark Storey directly for details. We're at storey98 at aol dot com.
[edit] Suggested criteria for getting designated clothing-optional beach areas in Seattle
- Seattle Park. The beach should exist as a Seattle Park currently, and would need to be one with a shoreline.
- Comment: What about King County Parks? I don't think we should rule these out. Dlj 06:50, 14 May 2006 (UTC)
- Privacy/Remoteness. The location needs to be off the beaten path, and not frequented by hundreds of families. The more this beach is on the edge of a park the better. The beach should be somewhat off the radar of the mainstream public for the first year.
- Comment: I think with proper signage and with an adequate stretch of sandbar, we can still have a beach with lots of families using the park..Dlj 05:50, 14 May 2006 (UTC)
- Some concealment options. The beach should not be easily accessible from prying eyes at a distance. It should have taller grass, sand dunes, driftwood, shrubbery to aid in keeping the beach from too much publicity, curiousity, long distance voyeurism.
- Access/Parking. The beach should have the ability for some parking. Something within a quarter/half mile or less would be great.
- Sandy beach/swimming access. Ideally we'd like to have some nice sand to sit on, and possibly some swimming access.
- Community support. We want to be good neighbors!
[edit] Other non-critical criteria for beaches
A wish list of other features that would help improve the diversity of the beach.
- Disablity access. People with physical limitations should be able to access the beach without too much trouble.
[edit] Coverage
There has been quite a bit of coverage in the press and media, blogging, journals and newswire concerning Seattle Free Beach advoacy-focused or related topics.
- See Seattle coverage for a comprehensive listing.
[edit] Other beach & public lands resources
- The San Francisco Bay Guardian's Annual Guide to Nude Beaches Now in its 30th year.
- Black's Beach Bares A group of beach users dedicated to the clothing optional use of Black's Beach [in San Diego, CA].
- Bay Area Naturists A loosely-knit collection of people in the San Francisco and Monterey Bay areas.
- The Naturist Society (TNS) has been a leader in promoting body acceptance and nude recreation for more than 20 years.
- South Florida Free Beaches/Florida Naturist Association The creators and mentors of the clothing-optional Naturist family beach at Haulover Beach Park in Miami-Dade County. SFFB/FNA's mission is to secure the establishment and protection of public clothing-optional beaches, parks and recreation areas, and to promote and defend the concept and ideals of Naturism.
- B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Beach Education Advocates for Culture, Health, Environment & Safety Foundation Institute, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) federally tax-exempt nonprofit educational corporation. B.E.A.C.H.E.S.'s four goals for our public beaches are explicit in its name: cultural diversity, public health, environmental conservation, and beach safety. While within the context of cultural diversity, B.E.A.C.H.E.S. is a strong advocate for designated public naturist beaches, it is equally an advocate for an equitable shared usage of beach resources by all user groups, insofar as a particular usage is not in conflict with the four goals of the foundation. To achieve these ends, B.E.A.C.H.E.S. aims at establishing amicable and mutually beneficial working partnerships with government, business, and the public.
- BeachFront U.S.A. is a nudist activist organization, the oldest in the United States, founded in 1973. It is "dedicated to challenging the state's right to enforce statutory dress-codes at inappropriate places, such as our ocean beaches, where people go expressly to be free from the demands of garmentry," to quote the banner of its newsletter, The Free Beach News.
[edit] Manners
Nude is not lewd! Use common sense - mind your manners!
Humans are sexual beings, but being naked is not an indication or an invitation for overt sexual behavior. Respect peoples' bodies and their personal space. Families and individuals deserve to be able to enjoy clothing-free activities without being confronted with undesirable or unexpected behavior including: (a) Unwanted sexual advances, excessive gawking, harassment, abuse, or other forms of predatory behavior; (b) persecution for being naked; (c) being subjected to someone else's overtly sexual activities; or (d) being the principal focus of someone else's photography/videography without consent.
[edit] Environmental stewardship
Be a good steward of the environment - leave no trace! We take our responsiblity to take care of the environment seriously. We always have a beach cleanup after our events.
Our events never produce much trash (if any at all). We like to leave the sites even cleaner than we found them.
Please remember that body-paint, costumes, or any other "flair" worn in the water should be non-toxic and should not break apart in the water or on the beach. Please remember to pack out all your belongings and garbage with you.
