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Jersey Shore postcards offer a glimpse into vacations past
Our grandparents had a ball at the Jersey shore. Just check out their postcards.
Paul Wood Jr, Brian Johnston and Jim Beckerman, NorthJersey.com
Walking toward the shoreline at Gunnison was like walking into a bottle of sprayable Coppertone sunscreen. The air was thick and fragrant, and I’m sure I would’ve had a migraine had it not been overcast that day.
Sunblock, though, is an unspoken rule at New Jersey’s only nude beach — because, if you don’t wear it, some areas not used to U.V. are going to sting later.
I walked by two communal tables full of the lotion, holding my breath and hoping I would acclimate to the scent. I’d arrived at the nude beach, but my mind was far from the bodies.
That was until someone complimented mine.
“I wish I had abs like that,” a young naked man told me. “Keep it up, girl.”
I didn’t mind the flattery, but it got me thinking; if we’re on a nude beach, perhaps another unspoken rule should be that we don’t talk about each other’s parts. It was the wake-up I needed, however, to get my head out of the skincare aisle of Walmart.
For the first time (in the United States), I was surrounded by hundreds of people in their birthday suits.
Visiting New Jersey’s only nude beach
I didn’t know there was a nude beach in New Jersey. Last month, I spent three weeks in France and Spain where topless spots were common, but I hadn’t seen one on this side of the Atlantic. It was my editor (again) who put the place on my radar.
Similar to when she urged me to go to a dingy dive bar in Montclair, she suggested I check out Gunnison.
“You’ll get a nice tan!” she said.
Eager to take a day off from writing, I accepted the assignment.
I arrived at the beach at 2 p.m. on a Thursday. Located a couple of miles past the entrance of Sandy Hook, getting to the spot took an hour and 10 minutes from North Jersey. Parking costs $20.
Carrying the smallest beach bag ever — I only needed a towel and some snacks — I passed a bathhouse and coffee bar. Ahead of them was a warning sign of sorts.
“ATTENTION,” it read, “You may encounter nude sunbathers.”
Fifty feet past that warning, the silhouettes of unclothed bodies began to appear against a backdrop of crashing waves.
“Welcome to the friendliest beach around,” a second sign read. “Good vibes ahead.”
The ‘friendliest beach around’
Parallel to the bathrooms and the coffee bar, the beach area closest to the entranceway was packed with people. Topless college-age visitors hung out next to retired couples in nothing but flip-flops. Behind them, a group of four played a game of badminton. Volleyball and frisbee were further back.
The scene resembled a day at Point Pleasant — except for the nudity part.
The degree of exposure varied at that point on the beach. Some people wore swim bottoms, some wore oversized T-shirts (under which I assume they wore nothing) and others were fully free of clothing. Everyone, however, was at least partially naked.
In this first section, the visitor population was demographically diverse. I saw a mix of men and women ranging in age from babies (but not many) to elderly. There appeared to be a higher concentration of international visitors than found at the clothed shore points, but it wasn’t particularly striking. As far as the socioeconomic makeup of the visitors, the number of hybrid vehicles with New York license plates in the parking lot hinted that the beach attracts some wealthy guests.
Under Gunnison’s towering lifeguard stands, I’d venture to say that anybody — as long as they’re not shy around naked bodies (or a 13-year-old) — would feel comfortable.
A change of scenery
I waded through the ankle-deep water and left the most crowded part of the beach behind as I headed south. Though all areas of Gunnison were quiet — the place is notably more peaceful than Seaside Heights or Wildwood — traversing the southern section almost felt like hiking in the woods.
There were minimal music speakers, if any, and the small number of the seagulls rarely squawked. The silence was somewhere between relaxing and peculiar.
While the entire beach attracts a very diverse population, this quieter section seems to be a favorite amongst LGBTQ+ visitors.
This area of the beach, like most of Gunnison, did not have many women guests on this particular day. After a short stay, and just a few curious looks from the sunbathers, I turned around and left.
By the time I returned to the north end of the beach, I arrived at the conclusion that Gunnison has way more men visitors than women. (At least on the Thursday that I was there.) If I had to guess, I’d say 75% of the beachgoers were men, many of a mature age.
As a woman, I never felt threatened or uncomfortable during my visit, though, which is important to note for those considering a trip.
The history of nude beaches in New Jersey
In the early 1900s, New Jersey had a couple of nude beaches. Cape May’s Higbee Beach was a nude beach in the 1980s, but by the 1990s it became each township’s responsibility to determine whether nudity was legal within its borders.
Higbee didn’t fare well in court.
Gunnison, however, is owned by the federal government — not a local municipality — which is why it still exists.
Today, people go to the naturist area for a tranquil beach (no screaming kids), friendlier beachgoers and the ability to fully relax in the sun or waves.
I enjoyed the latter; as drifting through the soft currents without clothing was about as liberating as personal experiences come.
So, if visiting a nude beach is something on your bucket list, I’d say Gunnison is the place to do it.
Because — despite the overwhelming scent of sunscreen — Sandy Hook’s most congenial pocket is just a regular beach full of people enjoying a day at the shore.
Kara VanDooijeweert is a food/lifestyle writer for NorthJersey.com and The Record. If you can’t find her in Jersey’s best restaurants, she’s probably off running a race course in the mountains. Catch her on Instagram: @karanicolev & @northjerseyeats, and sign up for her North Jersey Eats newsletter.
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Publish date : 2024-08-22 22:31:00
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