Southland Nudists Swim and Bare It

Let the naked truth be told: Regardless of anti-nudity laws at Southland public beaches, tens of thousands of Californians-- sans swimsuits--bare it all.

Al Spencer is one.

For sure, he’s not your typical shy guy. Not this card-carrying nudist sitting on a beach chair near a canyon named in his honor, taking in the rays--uh, fully--from head to toe.

With Nude Recreation Weekend starting in 48 hours, Spencer, a 70-year-old retired psychologist, is getting a jump on the national observance.

“Since the 1940s, this beach has been traditionally recognized as an area for clothing-optional sunbathing,” the unofficial mayor of Black’s Beach in La Jolla says about the unofficial nude-sunbathing sanction.

Even though the swimsuit-optional status was repealed by San Diego County voters in 1977, nudists still come to Black’s Beach by the droves, seeking out the burro trail--and braving rattlers--that leads to Spencer Canyon. Often, treks to other nude Southland beaches take visitors down steep, rocky cliffs in remote areas far from clothed crowds and police.

At Black’s Beach “we’re not hassled at all,” says Spencer, who has been a nudist for 48 years and is the editor of the Black’s Beach Bares Assn. monthly newsletter. “We can remain nude until a complaint from the public is lodged, which rarely happens.”

Generally, state or local anti-nudity ordinances are not enforced on state beaches except when complaints are made by other beach visitors, and no arrests are made unless the nude sunbather refuses to get dressed, says Dick Gitlin, special assistant for community affairs with the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors.

“A lot of vacationing young Europeans are used to nude sunbathing, and if they go to the beach they wind up here in Venice. I haven’t seen this lately, but there are instances where someone is topless,” he says.

When the bare facts are brought to a lifeguard’s attention, the lifeguard then advises the person about the ordinance. “If it causes a problem or a scene, the police are contacted,” Gitlin says. If a nude sunbather refuses an order to cover up, a fine from $25 to $500 could result.

At Black’s Beach, Spencer says, nude and clothed sunbathers have been able to coexist for decades.

“The constitution of the BBB association states that conduct on the beach is an individual matter as long as that conduct is not offensive to others,” he says. “I don’t want to be a moralist and say this is wrong or right, but we feel we have a constitutional right to sunbathe in the nude.”

Like Spencer, Jerry McKee of Glendale is adamant about nudists’ rights. McKee, 62, is a member of the group Beachfront U.S.A., which fights for the rights of “naturists” to bare arms as well as every inch of one’s body.

Whenever he is in the mood for buff bathing, he heads to San Onofre State Beach south of San Clemente in San Diego County.

“There are several beaches where the law sees it as quite harmless, but nudists are concerned they will get into trouble if they go nude in Los Angeles County,” he says. “I’m always looking for a ranger or a lifeguard. If anyone comes into the vicinity, you cover up.”

McKee, who has been skinny-dipping for nine years, says he enjoys peeling off his clothes at the beach because “nude sunbathing is utterly free and utterly unsexy. At a clothed beach, gawkers go, ‘Wow!’--but at a nude beach they just go, ‘Oh.’ ”

The Nude Wave

Whether you’re a veteran or a newcomer to nude bathing, there are several clothing-optional beaches throughout Southern California. According to nudists and “California’s Nude Beaches: The Clothes-Free/Hassle-Free Guide” by Dave Patrick, here are the most popular sand spots:

LOS ANGELES COUNTY:

* Sacred Beach. Also known as Smuggler’s Cove, this 500-yard patch of beach is about eight miles south of Redondo Beach between Portuguese and Inspiration Points on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. You’ll have to park at Abalone Cove and hoof it to a trail that leads to the beach.

* Inspiration Point Beach. A five-minute hike from Sacred Beach.

* Venice Beach. Located between Santa Monica and Marina del Rey, Venice was once the most popular bare-it-all beach in the county until nudity was banned in the mid-’70s. According to nudists, enforcement is erratic.

SAN DIEGO COUNTY:

* Black’s Beach. This beach by the La Jolla cliffs is known the world over for its open-air nakedness. Weekends are packed with thousands of nude sunbathers playing volleyball, bodysurfing, building sandcastles and body painting reminiscent of the 1970s, when beach nudity was legal.

* Torrey Pines State Beach. The mood here is less playful and more peaceful. It’s a short walk north of Black’s Beach.

* San Onofre State Beach. Located slightly south of San Clemente, the clothing-optional stretch of sand is at it’s southernmost end.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY:

* Rincon Beach. Located in Carpinteria, southeast of Santa Barbara, the far northern end of this three-acre beach is generally the spot for nude sunning.

* More Mesa Beach. Among the nude set, this is the most famous beach in the county. Located north of Santa Barbara, the beach attracts about 1,000 nudists on a holiday weekend. Surfing, jogging and horseback riding abound. A steep climb leads to a wooden stairway that will take you there.

* Gaviota Beach. Also known as “Secret Spot,” this isolated stretch of sand is located about 30 miles north of Santa Barbara.

* Summerland Beach. Located a few miles east of Lookout County Park, clothing-optional sunbathing occurs on the southeast end, at Loon Point and Sand Point.