The world has clothing-optional beaches. And the world has beaches that are popular hangouts for LGBTQ2S+ people. You may be surprised (or maybe you wouldn’t, you troublemaker) about how many of these are the same beaches. One rule of thumb for finding the best spots is that the areas frequented by gay and bi men are usually a little further on from the main clothing-optional area. Walk past where the straight people start to thin out, and you’re probably in homo town.
Here are our top 10 best and busiest clothing-optional gay beaches. Remember to bring extra sunscreen, you don’t want anything burning. And don’t be a dick—no taking photos of people without their permission.
Wreck Beach, Vancouver, Canada
The steep stairs descending the cliff from the University of British Columbia to the beach itself weeds out many looky-lous from visiting what, at 7.8-kilometres long, is North America’s largest naturist beach. An estimated 838,000 people visited in 2022. When the weather’s good, Wreck Beach (S.W. Marine Dr., Vancouver) can have a real party atmosphere, with vendors selling all sorts of wacky artisan snacks and drinks. Though the whole beach has a queer vibe, gay and bi men tend to head left, that is south, to a more remote, treed area.
Gunnison Beach, Sandy Hook, New Jersey
About 27 kilometres directly south of Manhattan’s Wall Street is one of the largest legal clothing-optional beaches on the east coast of the United States. That commute is by boat, of course. By car, the way most of us will get there, it’s about an hour and a half—take that, Fire Island! Gunnison Beach (Atlantic Dr., Highlands, New Jersey) attracts thousands of people each weekend in the good-weather months. That includes families, so some discretion is advised if you stay on the main part of the beach. The gay area is in the southernmost strip of beach, the furthest from the parking lot.
Elia Beach, Mykonos, Greece
While any beach on Mykonos is bound to have some LGBTQ+ people on it, Elia is probably the most gay. One of the more isolated beaches on the island, with a rocky area that can provide some privacy, it can be reached by a bus ride from Mykonos Town. Unlike North American clothing-optional beaches, which tend to be a bit “wild,” Elia has sunbeds and umbrellas for rent, and food to buy. Queer nudists tend to settle in at the western end of the beach, which has many rock nooks in which to strike camp.
Baker Beach/Marshall’s Beach, San Francisco, California
Tucked on the west side of the Presidio of San Francisco, the park and recreational area where the Golden Gate Bridge begins, Baker Beach is considered one of the nicest beaches in San Francisco, though the water is rarely warm enough to swim in comfortably. It’s a popular mixed-crowd place that gets gayer and nakeder as you go north from the main parking lot. If there’s not enough exposed skin for you here, find the Batteries to Bluffs Trail and make the spectacular hike to the more remote, and even gayer, Marshall’s Beach. It will require going up, then down, some cliffs. If the queer socializing disappoints, you’ve got great views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Cala de l’Home Mort/Playa del Hombre Muerto, Sitges, Spain
The whole town of Sitges, about a 40-minute train ride out of Barcelona, is like visiting the inside of a rainbow factory—you’ll quickly lose track of the number of guys wearing Addicted swimsuits. But if you want to doff your trunks and tan every inch of your bod among like-minded men, you’ll have to walk about an hour down the coast, that is in the direction away from Barcelona, or take a 10-minute taxi ride to Cala de l’Home Mort/Playa del Hombre Muerto (that’s “dead man’s beach” in Catalan and Spanish). It’s small and pebbly, but there’s lots of privacy. And hopefully no dead men.
Little Beach, Maui, Hawaii
Also known as Pu’u Ola’i (Kihei, Hawaii), this is an unofficial clothing-optional beach in Makena State Park (there are no sanctioned clothing-optional beaches in Hawaiian parks). There’s a rocky cliff separating it from the clothing-mandatory Big Beach, so you’ll be walking a lava-flow trail from the parking lot—make sure you bring footwear, as well as snacks and drinks. The beach is popular and can have a party vibe, though the scrubby trees around it provide some privacy for more intimate moments.
Praia Naturista 19/Praia Naturista da Bela Vista, Lisbon, Portugal
About 20 kilometres south of Lisbon is the lovely stretch of dunes Costa da Caparica, which is sectioned into numbered beaches, a couple of which are designated as clothing-optional. For gay and bi guys who like to tan au naturel, the lucky number is 19, so named because it’s the 19th stop on the local tourist train. A summertime gay haunt since the 1980s, the beach itself can be very social, the dunes and bushes cruisy.
Lady Bay Beach, Sydney, Australia
This sanctioned nude beach in Sydney Harbour National Park, at the tip of a peninsula on the outer edge of the harbour, is sometimes called Lady Gay Beach. Though nudity is only permitted on the sand itself, not on the rocks, you can take a guess where you’ll find many of the gay and bi men who hang out here. It’s a mixed crowd, just like at Obelisk Beach, which is directly across the bay.
Haulover Beach Park, Miami Beach, Florida
Attracting more than 1.3-million visitors each year, this might be the world’s most popular clothing-optional beach. It’s the half-mile on the northern end of Haulover (15548 Collins Ave., Miami Beach) that’s for nudists, and that’s also where you’re most likely to find LGBTQ2S+ people sunning themselves. This area is chill, and not as cruisy as one might expect; if you want to party, head south to the more boisterous part of the beach.
Playa Zipolite, Oaxaca, Mexico
Hard to get to, and not close to any place where you could find a Starbucks or buy a pair of jeans, it’s hard to see why anyone would come to this sleepy queer-friendly beach town. Very poor wifi and cell service. And hard to get to—did we mention that? But if you do find yourself here—and remember that we didn’t send you and perhaps don’t want any more people to visit!—then you must promise to keep it chill and attitude-free.
Hometown bonus beach: Hanlan’s Point, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
I can’t omit my regular clothing-optional stretch of sand. Visitors can take a ferry or water taxi from the Toronto waterfront to the Hanlan’s dock of the Toronto Islands, then walk about 10 minutes to this officially sanctioned clothing-optional area. In the summer, it’s so gay it’s actually hard to avoid LGBTQ2S+ people, but we know you would not want to. Fun fact: a couple of years ago the city brought in sand to create a new beach area, just south of the clothing-optional beach. And it was quickly taken over by gay nudists, so now there are two gay-dominated naked beaches in Toronto. On warm summer weekends, the southern beach has a celebratory nightclub vibe from mid-afternoon to after dark.
