I was neglectful this summer. I didn't visit Gunnison Beach, the nudist beach on Sandy Hook in New Jersey, until the final weekend in September. It was a treat even so.
The weather was superb. The temperature was neither too hot nor too cool. The sky was free of clouds and haze. To the north, the Verrazano-Narrows suspension bridge was distinct, so vivid that the main cables were distinguishable. The landmarks of New York City, including the Empire State Building, were equally visible. One rarely sees such clarity in the summer because of the faint haze produced by the heat island of New York City. It was a day of delicate breezes, warm water and fluctuating currents that reshaped the sand bars as the hours passed.
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But of course the best part of the day was guy-watching. Gay or straight, they were a delight. And there were plenty to look at. They knew they had a great beach day when they saw one. They came from all parts of New Jersey. They came from New York City, some by car and some by ferry. I saw a couple of Connecticut license plates and of course, there was mine from Pennsylvania. I spoke with one gentleman from Wilmington, Delaware while the ocean rolled over a sandbar to soak our legs. It's fair to say that upwards of 90 percent of the guys in the gay section were nude. There were all sorts of men, from their early 20s to those with more years on them. Heavens! I don't know why I had put off a visit for so long!
These photos give you a hint of what a wonderful place Gunnison Beach is. The images were extracted from a number of blogs. A few of the photos were identified by name as having been taken at the beach. It takes a little detective work to identify the others. The key is the images in the background. If a photo clearly shows landmarks from the New York City skyline, it certainly originated at Sandy Hook.
Many of the images come from a single photographer, which is why the subject so often is heading toward the right.
As you can see, walking is a major pastime at Gunnison. The clothing-optional area is more than a mile long, starting with the male-female section closest to the entrance and extending south to the clothes-only section for fishing. Some individuals or pairs walk for the exercise, some dip in and out of the water, some search for shells, some are people-watchers.
The photos have been accumulating in my folder over the months in anticipation of posting them as a group. As with my visit, I never got around to publishing them during the summer. But here they are, belated but enjoyable.
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The weather was superb. The temperature was neither too hot nor too cool. The sky was free of clouds and haze. To the north, the Verrazano-Narrows suspension bridge was distinct, so vivid that the main cables were distinguishable. The landmarks of New York City, including the Empire State Building, were equally visible. One rarely sees such clarity in the summer because of the faint haze produced by the heat island of New York City. It was a day of delicate breezes, warm water and fluctuating currents that reshaped the sand bars as the hours passed.
These photos give you a hint of what a wonderful place Gunnison Beach is. The images were extracted from a number of blogs. A few of the photos were identified by name as having been taken at the beach. It takes a little detective work to identify the others. The key is the images in the background. If a photo clearly shows landmarks from the New York City skyline, it certainly originated at Sandy Hook.
Many of the images come from a single photographer, which is why the subject so often is heading toward the right.
As you can see, walking is a major pastime at Gunnison. The clothing-optional area is more than a mile long, starting with the male-female section closest to the entrance and extending south to the clothes-only section for fishing. Some individuals or pairs walk for the exercise, some dip in and out of the water, some search for shells, some are people-watchers.
The photos have been accumulating in my folder over the months in anticipation of posting them as a group. As with my visit, I never got around to publishing them during the summer. But here they are, belated but enjoyable.
