RECREATION
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“In my 20s, hiking with a group in Europe, we stumbled
upon nudist campers and joined in. It was great!”
Fort Pierce resident Richie Parsons enjoyed skinny
dipping in high school. “It was more mischievous than
anything.” When he moved to Colorado, though, he
discovered the naturist lifestyle. “At a hot spring at night,
snow on the ground, looking up at the Milky Way — now
that’s cool.”
COMMUNITIES STATEWIDE
Naturist communities are scattered throughout Florida.
Since 1992, Sunnier Palms Nudist Park on Okeechobee
Road west of Fort Pierce has provided home and haven
to resident and visiting naturists with a community and
campground. Co-founder T.A. Wyner has played an
integral part in educating the public and local governments
about the legality and validity of the naturism, confronting
confusion and inconsistency.
Middle Cove on South Hutchinson Island used to be the
go-to place for nude sunbathers, but Wyner says they were
sometimes asked to leave, threatened with arrest, or actually
charged.
“Naturists don’t like to infringe on anyone,” Wyner says.
When a housing development was built nearby, they migrated
south.
Unfortunately, legal problems moved south with them.
One day someone reported seeing a naked man on the
beach. It was Jones.
“I owe the deputy who escorted me off the beach a debt of
gratitude,” he says, because it motivated him to act. In 2014,
Nelson and others sat down with representatives from the St.
Lucie County Commission, Blueway Advisory Committee,
the Sheriff’s Department, and the county attorney’s office to
discuss a clothing-optional beach.
Florida statute 800.03 states that “It is unlawful to expose
or exhibit one’s sexual organs in public or on the private
premises of another ... in a vulgar or indecent manner, or
to be naked in public except in any place provided or set
apart for that purpose.” Everyone agreed that sunbathing is
not vulgar and that a beach set apart was legal. Blind Creek
Beach became a reality.
SIGNS NOTIFY BEACH-GOERS
When Parsons moved from Colorado to be closer to his father,
he hoped he could find a naturist beach nearby. He was
thrilled with Blind Creek. “It’s a lovely place. I go as often as
I can.”
Although the county has not designated its property as
a nude beach, naturists, county and law enforcement have
agreed that naturists may use it, erecting signs to warn others
they will encounter nudity.
“If we get a complaint, we’ll go out,” says Chief Deputy
Garry Wilson, who was part of the original discussion, “but
I couldn’t tell you the last time we got a call.”
Located on South Hutchinson Island — about halfway
between Fort Pierce and Jensen Beach — Blind Creek Beach
provides a quiet, safe beach for naturists and others.
“We’ve got snowbirds during the winter, throughout
the entire week,” Jones says. “After spring, it’s a different
crowd, up to 300 to 400 on the weekends and growing each
year.”
NATURISTS BOOST COFFERS
Naturist tourism brings millions of Florida visitors each
year, along with their cash and credit cards. TCN, and its
subsidiary Friends of Blind Creek Beach, is working on a
survey to quantify the financial impact naturism has on St.
Lucie County. In the meantime, word of mouth and email
blasts are bringing more and more people to Blind Creek.
“Occasionally someone comes out, or walks along the
beach, who’s unaware of the status,” Jones says.
TCN provides printable signs online, but permanent signage
would prevent surprises. Jones would like the county
to invest itself more publicly by installing signs. >>
This married couple, who asked that their names not be used,
visited the Treasure Coast Naturists website before coming to Blind
Creek where they found a more private, pristine experience.