There is a difference between nude camping and camping nude. To me nude camping suggests a place where you are allowed to camp nude, such as a resort. The focus is on the place. Camping nude, on the other hand, emphasizes the experience of camping while you remain nude.
My recent two week camping trip in the eastern US illustrated this. I researched naturist resorts before leaving and considered two. I told my wife about them and she was all in. I was hesitant. The main reason is the cost. I am not cheap. My objection is based on principle.
Naturist resorts usually charge two fees, one for camping, and one for use of the facilities. Considering that their facilities are no better than, say, a KOA, you are being taxed (or gouged) for the privilege of being nude. That annoys me. If I go to a non-nudist campground then I can use the facilities and camp for roughly half the cost. There are no separate fees. My thought is sure charge a fee for non-campers, but your camping fee should cover use of the facilities.
My objection is based on my desire for naturism to grow and putting barriers to people doing what is natural and normal is not the way to do this. Cost should not be a deterrent to families enjoying nudism.
Don't get me wrong. I love naturist resorts and camping nude. For me camping and nude are like wine and cheese. They just go together. Staying in a non-nudist campground actually restrains me very little. I secretly think this is one of my wife's reasons for being so gung-ho on the idea of going to a nude campground. It will keep me somewhat in check.
When I go camping, anywhere, I look for a relatively secluded site. Then I remove my clothes and begin camping. I only put them on again to go off the site (and sometimes not even then). Take this trip, for example. It was pre-Memorial Day in the US which means kids are still in school and campgrounds are less than busy.
We camped in five campgrounds, one public and four state parks. I went fully nude in all of them. I set up and took down the tent nude. I walked around freely and sat at the table or in a chair nude. My thinking is that nobody cares what you do as long as it does not affect them half as much as you think they might. Everybody is doing their own thing and you are doing yours. People knew and I got a few strange looks, but a naked guy two sites away soon loses its appeal.
I did not stop there. We went to Gunnison Beach twice. It is clothing optional. But every beach other than that was also nude for me. I just waited till people passed by then took off my shorts and it was instant nude beach. At one point I got a thumbs up from a guy strolling the beach for my courage to strip down. He came back and got into a conversation with my wife (clothed) and I (nude) and never mentioned my being nude.
I should note that my thinking is totally selfish. When we go to a nude resort or nude beach, my wife happily joins in, which I love. She no longer minds if I strip down whenever I want, but does not want a confrontation with others over it. But she will not join in the fun and that takes away some of my enjoyment.
I need to give a little and relax my thinking on naturist resorts. I just wish that they believed a little more in nudist ideals and less in exploiting nudists.
I could not agree more, Shane Davis.
Most people assume the worst, so never try. They surrender their freedom without testing the waters. I was like that once. Then, thirteen years ago, I said to myself that I had played the game by someone else's rules for over half of my life. I would play it my way for the rest. I started out small, but now am a full on nudist in a non-nudist world.
My biggest critic used to be myself. Then it was my wife who thought that I had taken leave of my senses. Now she is on side, but will not join me unless it is officially sanctioned nudism and far enough from home that nobody she knows will find out. That is also her biggest fear of my activity. She is fearful that someone that she knows will find out.
I suspect on the whole people are far less offended by nudity than most assume. Realistically from a few yards it's actually difficult to figure out if someone is naked or not. Even more significant is that from a few yards you don't see anything other than the actual person, so there's nothing to get upset or offended about!
In my experience your conduct is everything. As I've said before, if you act like you're doing something wrong, people will respond accordingly. If you behave in a perfectly normal manner people will pretty much accept there's nothing to be worried or concerned about and do there thing.
Well done on being nude wherever you could! I agree with you regarding resorts, and in my experience people usually react neutrally or positively when they see someone naked in natural setting. And I always hope that such encounters will make them more accepting and perhaps curious about nudity.
That is why I do it. I walk around my yard nude and take out the garbage nude in the hopes of making people aware that you can be free and to help them get used to it. I have been at it for thirteen years now and no problems yet. I live in suburbia with a dozen or more backyards being able to see into my yard. All my neighbours know and we get along well and nobody mentions it.
Hi,
I am glade you enjoyed your camping trip in the USA. The laws on public nudity vary in many locations in the USA. Your experience could have been ruined by one person complaining to the Police or Park Ranger. Nudity in the wrong place could be perceived as a sexual act.
Supply and demand have a major impact on the fees a Nudist Resort charges, along with their operating costs. Many places have very low camping fees to encourage visitors.
If they complain, then I would be more discreet. BTW, I have seen others nude in non-nudist campgrounds. Mostly they just sit around and nobody says anything. I am a bit more of an activist.