San Francisco Bay Guardian

Guardian readers report that the days of having to scramble down the last 50 feet of the trail to Black Sand Beach, also known as Bonita Beach, are finally over -- which means a mix of men and women and singles and couples to return to one of Marin County's oldest clothing-optional beaches. "There's a 60-foot-long staircase that will get you down on the sand in maybe 10 minutes and back up in 15 minutes," says East Bay resident Trevor Murphy. Read more »

Although textile-less tanning is the main recreational sport at little West Bonita Beach, it's also a great spot to swim when there's no wind or undertow. However, the trail is still closed, slippery, and dangerous.

Part of the GGNRA.Read more »

Last year, we introduced readers to an emerging nude shoreline just south of the popular nude area at Muir Beach. Located west of the hillside called Coyote Ridge, it's known to just a few people. "I've gone three or four times with my girlfriend, who's been visiting it for years," says Alex Towery, of San Rafael. "It's a little sandy cove and beach." The hill is the first one south of the Muir Beach parking lot. Read more »

Hot springs in the sea? Believe it. Steep Ravine has two springs, one in the ocean and another on the cliffs.

But the trail down from the road is so slippery that we've never recommended it. In fact, we've rated the site a "D" for years, but it hasn't stopped people from trying to visit a clothing-optional hot springs that's nearly hidden in the sea.

Even finding the spring is quite difficult, as it's located in the middle of the shoreline's tidal zone. ("It's only usable at very low tide," says Dave, of San Francisco.)Read more »

Tucked away in a little cave-like nook between Red Rock and Stinson Beach is Little Stinson Beach, which has become a hangout for a few nude gay males.

"There's not much of a place to lie down," says Red Rock Beach regular Fred Jaggi. "It has more rocks than sand."Read more »

Recommended!Read more »

More of a hangout for sunbathing and socializing than swimming, the place that Marinites call "the Pond" is usually so silted-over and polluted by mid-June that signs warn visitors to stay out of the water due to its high bacteria count. Read more »

Recommended!Read more »

Want to sunbathe in the nude near a historic site? It's said this is the place where Sir Francis Drake, the first Brit to sail around the world, landed his Golden Hinde in 1579. But some say it another spot in Marin County. Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, which connects Point San Quentin on San Francisco Bay with Drakes Bay in Point Reyes, is the point of contention. Each end is near a site considered by some to be Drake's landing place. Then there are those who think Drake came ashore in Bodega Bay, Tomales Bay, Coos Bay, or even Santa Barbara. Read more »

You have as little as three years left to enjoy this site. Mired in plants, the half-acre man-made lake known as Mount Vision Pond has been getting less users, nude or otherwise, in recent years, due to both its remoteness and problematic water quality. Repairs are needed to fix and clean the dam, but Point Reyes officials say they're unlikely to be made. Instead, says Point Reyes National Seashore district ranger Marc Yeston, "it's going back to nature." Authorities estimate the lake will remain viable until at least 2012.

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Used by naturists for at least a decade, the northern tip of McClures Beach still draws small numbers of sans-suit sun-seekers. In 2000 and 2001, Point Reyes National Seashore district ranger Marc Yeston counted four groups of nudists on the sand. Be prepared for fog, wind, hazardous waves, and a fairly long hike from the end of Pierce Point Road.

Part of Point Reyes National Seashore.Read more »