Monterey County, California
Carmel Meadows Beach
Carmel Meadows Beach is a semi-secluded stretch south of the main Carmel-by-the-Sea beach access, where the Carmel River meets the Pacific and the beach transitions from the more visited tourist zone into quieter territory.
- Day use
About this place
Carmel Meadows Beach is a semi-secluded stretch south of the main Carmel-by-the-Sea beach access, where the Carmel River meets the Pacific and the beach transitions from the more visited tourist zone into quieter territory. The beach sits at the southern end of Carmel Bay, backed by the Carmel Meadows residential neighborhood, and has a long-standing informal clothing-optional tradition at its less-accessible southern end.
The Northern California coastal experience here is quintessential: dramatic rocky headlands, cold Pacific water (55–62°F year-round), morning fog burning off to afternoon sun, and the cypress and pine of Point Lobos visible to the south. The Carmel River lagoon creates a transitional wetland habitat between the beach and residential area that further limits casual foot traffic to the more remote southern stretches.
This is not a warm-water beach — the California Current keeps Monterey Bay cold year-round. C/O sunbathing on the sheltered sections on calm, warm-weather days is the primary activity, with swimming as an occasional pursuit for those comfortable with cold Pacific water.
Visitor notes
Contributed by ClothingOptional.org Editorial Team
Who visits
Carmel-area residents, Monterey Peninsula outdoor regulars, Northern California naturists comfortable with cold-water coast.
How to find it
Park near the Carmel Meadows trailhead off Ribera Road or Carmelo Street in Carmel-by-the-Sea. Walk south along the beach past the river mouth. The C/O area is at the less-trafficked southern end.
Things to watch out for
Northern California coast sneaker waves — never turn your back on the ocean. The Carmel River mouth can be deep and swift after winter rains. Parking in Carmel is limited in peak season. Water temperatures are cold year-round — swim with caution.
Last updated
Etiquette & ground rules
Informal C/O at the quieter southern end. The main beach area is publicly used — keep the C/O tradition to the less-trafficked sections.
Know this spot?
Report an update
Beach closed? Parking price changed? Section moved? Send a short note and we'll check it.
Also in California
More places nearby
California, USA
Baker Beach (North End)
Baker Beach is a half-mile of Pacific shoreline tucked under the Presidio cliffs in northwest San Francisco, with one of the most famous postcard views in the United States: the Golden Gate Bridge framed against the Marin headlands. The northern end of the beach — closest to the bridge itself — is the long-established clothing-optional section, and has been for decades. The southern end is the textile family-beach part; nudity convention shifts as you walk north toward the rocky cove below Battery Chamberlin. Public nudity is technically prohibited under San Francisco municipal code, but Baker Beach is administered by the National Park Service (Presidio/Golden Gate National Recreation Area) rather than by the city, and the NPS doesn't enforce the prohibition. The result is a tolerated, decades-old C/O zone with no signs but a clear local convention. Visitors who stay in the northern third — past the rocky outcrop, in the direction of the Sand Ladder Trail — are operating within the established norm. The crowd is genuinely diverse Bay Area: San Francisco locals on a weekend, tech-industry expats, the long-standing queer community that has used the northern end as a meeting spot for decades, and curious tourists who heard about it. Cold Pacific water (typically 12-15°C even in summer) and the afternoon fog mean Baker Beach is a sunbathing-and-walking beach more than a swimming beach. Practical notes: free parking at several lots along Bowley Street and at the Battery Chamberlin lot at the north end; the Sand Ladder Trail from Lincoln Boulevard is the steep alternate entry. Parking fills early on warm weekends. Bus access via the 29-Sunset route to Lincoln/25th Avenue.
California, USA
Beeks Bight
Beeks Bight is an informal clothing-optional area along the Sacramento River near Folsom, California — a stretch of river bank in the American River Parkway system of the Sacramento Valley. The spot takes its name from an old Sacramento River landmark and has been used by Sacramento area naturists as a river skinny-dipping spot for generations. The Sacramento River here is wide, warm in summer, and flanked by riparian forest of cottonwood, willow, and Valley oak — the characteristic landscape of California's Central Valley rivers. Unlike the cold Pacific coast, the Sacramento Valley runs hot in summer (100°F+ regularly), and the river water warms to genuinely pleasant swimming temperatures of 72–78°F from late June through September. Sacramento is in the center of California's inland valley network, and river access near the city fills a recreational niche that the ocean or mountain lakes can't serve for people who want a same-day outing. The American River Parkway trails and the Folsom Lake recreation area are the backbone of Sacramento's outdoor recreation system.
California, USA
Black Sands Beach
Black Sands Beach is a dark-sand beach in the Marin Headlands portion of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, named for the distinctive dark volcanic and serpentine rock that erodes into the sand. The beach is reached via a short but steep trail from the Conzelman Road / Battery Spencer area and is a different location from Rodeo Beach (about 2 miles to the west) — both are in the Marin Headlands, but serve different communities of regulars. Black Sands has an informal C/O tradition with deep roots in the San Francisco gay community — the Marin Headlands above are on the Golden Gate Bridge north approach, and the beach below has long been a clothing-optional destination for Bay Area LGBTQ+ outdoor visitors. The setting is dramatic: sheer cliffs, cold Pacific surf, the Golden Gate visible to the south, container ships passing at close range through the strait. The GGNRA technically prohibits nudity, but enforcement at Black Sands has been consistently minimal due to the beach's self-selecting access and its established community character. The crowd tends to be male-dominated and LGBTQ+-friendly — a San Francisco institution that has persisted across decades of changing policy environments.