Monterey County, California
The Crater Beach
The Crater Beach gets its name from the distinctive bowl-shaped depression in the dunes above it — a feature of the former Fort Ord military base terrain that is now managed as part of the Fort Ord Dunes State Park and adjacent open space in the Sand City and Seaside area of Monterey Bay.
- Day use
- Hike In
About this place
The Crater Beach gets its name from the distinctive bowl-shaped depression in the dunes above it — a feature of the former Fort Ord military base terrain that is now managed as part of the Fort Ord Dunes State Park and adjacent open space in the Sand City and Seaside area of Monterey Bay. The beach is backed by extensive sand dunes and former military land, creating a remote-feeling stretch despite its proximity to the Monterey-Salinas corridor.
The informal clothing-optional tradition here developed among CSUMB (Cal State Monterey Bay) students and Monterey Peninsula locals who explored the more remote stretches of the Fort Ord coastal lands. The dune system provides natural wind protection and visual screening, contributing to the C/O character of the spot. Cold Monterey Bay water and morning fog are constants; afternoon wind pickup is common.
Access requires navigating the sand dunes — no paved path leads directly to the beach. The Fort Ord area has restricted zones related to unexploded ordnance (UXO) that remain from the military period; stay on established paths and do not explore inland beyond the dune system.
Visitor notes
Contributed by ClothingOptional.org Editorial Team
Who visits
CSUMB students and faculty, Monterey-Salinas area naturists, locals who know the Fort Ord coast.
How to find it
Access from the Sand City or Seaside end of the Fort Ord Dunes State Park. Specific trail to the Crater Beach circulates through local community channels — look for the distinctive dune depression. Stay on established paths due to UXO history inland.
Things to watch out for
Do not wander inland off established paths — Fort Ord has a UXO legacy from decades of military use. Cold Pacific water and strong afternoon winds are standard. Northern California sneaker wave risk.
Last updated
Etiquette & ground rules
Informal C/O in a protected dune setting. The dune geography provides natural screening. Stay on the beach and established paths.
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.