Clothing-Optional California: The Complete Guide to Nude Beaches, Resorts & Hot Springs

California has more clothing-optional terrain than any other US state, and the variety is the point: it’s not just beaches. The state stretches a thousand miles north-to-south through three distinct naturist landscapes — Pacific cliff coves where nudity is custom, Sierra and Central Coast hot springs where it’s the default, and resort communities in the Inland Empire and Sacramento Valley where it’s the year-round norm.

The state’s permissive legal framework is part of what holds this together. California has no specific statute against public nudity. The relevant law is Penal Code §314, which criminalizes “indecent exposure” — but only when accompanied by lewd intent. Mere nudity in a non-sexual context isn’t an offense. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed topfreedom on equal-protection grounds, so female toplessness is legal statewide on the same terms as male. Local jurisdictions can and do create their own ordinances, but the major established clothing-optional places have either decades of unbroken custom (Black’s Beach, More Mesa) or formal property-owner authorization (Glen Eden, Laguna del Sol).

This is the field-checked guide to the places worth knowing about — what they are, where they are, what the access looks like, and what to expect when you arrive.

The Coastal Beaches

California has seven established clothing-optional beaches, distributed across roughly nine hundred miles of coastline. Each has its own history and its own access challenge.

Black’s Beach — San Diego County

Black’s is the icon. It runs along the base of the Torrey Pines cliffs north of La Jolla, sandwiched between Torrey Pines State Beach to the south and the federally-administered Torrey Pines Gliderport above. The naturist tradition is concentrated at the northern end, just below the Gliderport — a fact that’s been true since the 1960s and that has survived multiple jurisdictional shifts on the land above.

Access is the famous part: you park at the Torrey Pines Gliderport (free), watch the paragliders launch off the cliff for a few minutes, then descend a steep, eroded sand-and-rock trail down to the beach. The descent takes about ten minutes; the climb back up takes twenty. There are no facilities, no lifeguards, and no easy bail-out — at high tide, the beach narrows substantially in places, so check tide tables before you commit. The northern section, where the naturist crowd concentrates, is largely empty on weekdays and moderately attended on warm weekends.

Pirate’s Cove (Cave Landing) — San Luis Obispo County

Pirate’s Cove is a small, half-moon beach just north of Avila Beach on the Central Coast. The access is via a paved parking lot and a short hike down a moderately-steep trail — easier than Black’s. The beach is enclosed by sandstone cliffs that create a partial wind shelter and a feeling of remove from the main coastal corridor. There’s a sea cave at one end that visitors explore at low tide.

The naturist character is established by long custom; the county has not designated it formally but has consistently chosen not to enforce against nudity. The beach is family-friendly, popular with locals, and gets crowded on summer weekends. Parking fills early.

More Mesa Beach — Santa Barbara County

More Mesa is the Santa Barbara coast’s quietest clothing-optional option. The beach lies below the cliffs of the More Mesa preserve, a 300-acre open-space tract that’s protected from development. Access is from the residential streets above (Mockingbird Lane, Vieja Drive) — park on the street, walk through the mesa’s trails, and descend via one of several informal cliff trails. The trails are steep and sandy; the climb back up at sunset is the part visitors underestimate.

The beach itself is wide and unimproved. Naturist use is concentrated at the western end. There are no facilities, no lifeguards, and limited cell signal. The mesa above is popular with dog walkers and birders; the beach below tends to be quieter.

Bonny Doon Beach — Santa Cruz County

Bonny Doon is a sweeping crescent of coarse sand at the mouth of a creek valley, eleven miles north of Santa Cruz on Highway 1. Access is via a short, sandy trail from a small turnout — parking is informal and fills quickly on warm days. The beach is exposed to the Pacific weather; expect cool water, frequent fog, and afternoon wind even in summer. Bring a windbreak.

Bonny Doon’s naturist tradition predates official recognition. The northern end of the beach is the more naturist-leaning section. The southern end mixes textile and topless use.

Davenport Landing Beach — Santa Cruz County

Davenport Landing is twelve miles north of Santa Cruz, just past the village of Davenport. The beach is small, pocket-shaped, and tucked between sandstone cliffs that block some of the wind. Access is from a dirt parking area off Highway 1 down a short trail. Naturist use is concentrated at the northern end. Like Bonny Doon, it’s a NorCal beach — bring a wetsuit if you plan to swim, and expect afternoon wind.

San Gregorio Private Beach — San Mateo County

San Gregorio Private Beach (not to be confused with San Gregorio State Beach, which is adjacent and textile) is the oldest organized clothing-optional beach in the United States — naturist use began here in the 1960s, and the land has been managed as private clothing-optional terrain since 1967. There’s a small day-use fee paid at the kiosk; in exchange, you get a maintained beach, restroom facilities, and a community of regulars.

The beach is at the mouth of San Gregorio Creek, where the creek pools into a freshwater lagoon before reaching the surf. The lagoon is warmer than the open ocean and is popular with families. Driftwood structures dot the upper beach — visitors build and rebuild them every season.

Baker Beach (North End) — San Francisco

Baker Beach sits in the Presidio at the south end of the Golden Gate, with a head-on view of the bridge. The northern end has been clothing-optional by long custom — particularly on weekdays and during the brief San Francisco summer (which mostly happens in September). Access is easy: paved parking, short walk, no hiking. Water is cold; wind is constant.

The southern end of Baker Beach is textile and family-oriented; the naturist enclave is unambiguously at the north end, closer to the bridge. The original Burning Man events were held here in the late 1980s before relocating to the Black Rock Desert — a piece of countercultural history that the beach quietly honors.

The Hot Springs

California’s clothing-optional hot springs are split between commercial properties and wilderness pools. The wilderness springs are clothing-optional by custom, not by formal designation, and they require enough effort to reach that the social contract is well-established by the time you arrive.

Harbin Hot Springs — Lake County

Harbin is the only major commercial clothing-optional hot springs property in California and one of the longest-running in the country. Located in the hills outside Middletown, north of Napa Valley, the property has been a naturist destination since the 1970s. The 2015 Valley Fire destroyed much of the original infrastructure; the rebuild is now mature, with restored pools, lodging, treatment rooms, and the famous Watsu warm-water bodywork practice that Harbin’s founder helped develop.

Harbin operates as a non-profit retreat center. Day use is allowed but requires advance reservation; overnight stays span everything from dormitory bunks to private cabins. The pool area is clothing-optional throughout. Quiet hours are strict — Harbin’s defining sensibility is contemplative rather than party, and it’s not the right fit for visitors looking for a busy social scene.

Sykes Hot Springs — Monterey County

Sykes is the most famous wilderness hot spring in California — and one of the hardest to reach. The springs sit deep in the Ventana Wilderness off the Pine Ridge Trail from Big Sur Station, requiring a ten-mile one-way hike with significant elevation gain. The springs themselves are a small set of pools tucked into a creek bed in the redwood-shaded canyon. Clothing-optional is the unspoken norm; nudity is the default once you’ve made the hike.

The trail closes periodically due to fire damage and storm impacts — Ventana has seen severe fire seasons. Check current conditions through the Los Padres National Forest before planning a visit.

Sespe Hot Springs — Ventura County

Sespe is the most remote of California’s wilderness hot springs — a 15-mile one-way hike through the Sespe Wilderness north of Fillmore. The springs include the hottest natural source in Southern California (around 195°F at the source, cooling as it flows downstream to pool temperatures). Most visitors backpack in and stay multiple nights. Clothing-optional is the unspoken norm.

Deep Creek Hot Springs — San Bernardino County

Deep Creek sits in the San Bernardino National Forest east of Apple Valley. Access is via a moderately strenuous 2.5-mile hike (one-way) from the Bowen Ranch trailhead, which requires a small day-use fee. The pools are along Deep Creek itself — a series of natural rock basins that have been improved with modest stone walls over the decades. Clothing-optional is the long-standing custom. Forest Service has flirted with clothing requirements over the years but enforcement has been inconsistent; current practice is permissive.

Buckeye Hot Spring — Mono County

Buckeye is the easternmost in this list — eastern Sierra, near Bridgeport on Highway 395 between Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. The springs flow from a hillside down into Buckeye Creek, where they mix with the creek water in a series of natural and partially-improved pools. Access is via a short walk from the Buckeye Campground or a slightly longer one from the road. Clothing-optional by custom. Best in shoulder seasons (May–June, September–October); summer brings family campers and the social mood becomes more mixed.

The Naturist Resorts

California has four established clothing-optional resorts, geographically distributed: one Inland Empire (Glen Eden), one Sacramento Valley (Laguna del Sol), one South Bay (Lupin Lodge), and one Coachella Valley (Mi Kasa).

Glen Eden Sun Club — Corona

Glen Eden is one of the oldest continuously-operating naturist resorts in the United States — founded 1933 and still going. The 145-acre property sits in the foothills above Corona, about an hour east of Los Angeles. Facilities include a heated pool, several hot tubs, tennis and pickleball courts, hiking trails through the surrounding hills, dining, and rentals ranging from RV pads to cabins.

Glen Eden is family-friendly and full-service. AANR-affiliated. The social calendar is active year-round; check the website before visiting if you want to time around events or avoid them.

Laguna del Sol — Wilton (Sacramento Valley)

Laguna del Sol is the largest naturist resort in Northern California — 230 acres south of Sacramento, anchored by a 12-acre lake at its center. Facilities include a heated pool, multiple hot tubs, tennis and volleyball courts, walking trails, a restaurant, and a full range of accommodations from RV sites to cabins to a B&B-style lodge. AANR-affiliated, family-friendly, year-round operation.

Lupin Lodge Naturist Resort — Los Gatos

Lupin Lodge is the Bay Area’s naturist destination — 110 acres in the Santa Cruz Mountains, about a half hour south of San Jose. The property is older, woodier, and more low-key than Glen Eden or Laguna del Sol. Facilities include pools, hot tubs, hiking trails through redwood-and-oak forest, yoga and dance studios, and a range of accommodations from tent sites to cabins. AANR-affiliated.

Mi Kasa Hot Springs — Desert Hot Springs

Mi Kasa is the adults-only outlier — 21+ only, set in the geothermal spring belt north of Palm Springs. The property combines clothing-optional pool and hot-tub use with the famous mineral water of the Desert Hot Springs aquifer. Eight rooms, intimate scale, and a wellness-and-relaxation focus rather than a family-resort feel.

California’s Legal Context

California has no statute against public nudity per se. The state-level provision that governs is Penal Code §314 — “indecent exposure” — which requires the exposure to be done “lewdly” and with intent to direct attention to the exposed parts or to arouse, gratify, or offend. Mere non-sexual nudity is not, by itself, criminally indecent under §314.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed topfreedom on equal-protection grounds — Free the Nipple-Fort Collins v. City of Fort Collins (10th Circuit, 2019) is the most-cited circuit case, and the 9th Circuit’s parallel rulings have established the same right within California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Alaska, and Hawaii.

Local jurisdictions retain authority to create their own public-nudity ordinances. San Francisco famously did so in 2012, banning nudity in most public places (with exceptions for permitted street fairs like Folsom). Other counties have varying ordinances; most rural and beach jurisdictions are permissive in practice.

For full legal context covering all 50 states and 30+ countries, see our public nudity laws guide.

Practical Tips

Best seasons. Coastal Southern California beaches (Black’s, More Mesa) are pleasant June through October. The Central Coast (Pirate’s Cove) is similar but with more fog. Northern California beaches (Bonny Doon, Davenport, San Gregorio, Baker) need wetsuits for swimming year-round and are best September–October when the marine layer thins. Hot springs are year-round but most pleasant in shoulder seasons; the wilderness ones may be inaccessible in winter due to snow or trail damage. Resorts are open year-round; pool and outdoor areas are most usable in the warm months.

Access realities. California nude beaches all involve some kind of access friction — steep trails (Black’s, More Mesa), small parking lots that fill early (Bonny Doon, Davenport, Pirate’s Cove), or a kiosk fee (San Gregorio). Plan for arrival before 10 AM on summer weekends.

Wilderness hot springs. Sykes and Sespe require backpacking experience and current trail intel. Don’t attempt either without checking recent reports — Ventana and Sespe wildernesses have seen significant fire damage and trails have closed or rerouted. Carry a map, water, and a permit where required.

Etiquette. California’s naturist culture is broadly relaxed but holds firm on the basic norms: no staring, no photography, no sexualized behavior in public-facing places. Towel-down before sitting. Cover-up rules at restaurants and indoor spaces at resorts are universally observed.

Sources and Further Reading

• American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) — directory of affiliated resorts and member services
• California Department of Parks and Recreation — official park and beach policies
• Our Public Nudity Laws by Country guide — California in the broader US legal context
• Our Clothing-Optional Florida guide — the East Coast counterpart
• New to clothing-optional beaches? First Time at a Nude Beach covers what to expect; Sunscreen at a Nude Beach is essential reading for California’s high-UV summer conditions; What to Wear covers the practical arrival logistics

---

Last updated: 23 May 2026. We re-verify access conditions and resort facilities annually. If you’ve visited recently and the conditions on the ground differ from what’s described here, please contact us — first-person field reports are how this guide stays accurate.