The first day Stephane gave me a tour of the park, and then I got to sit in on a staff meeting. I was given three days of access to the park, most of which was spent following park owner Stephane Deschenes and park manager Karen Grant and her family. Naturism is a place where the human body is celebrated, a juxtaposition to today’s society where being skinny or muscular is seemingly the priority and focus for many. Naturism is not about sex, nor is it narcissistic. Open sexual acts or advances are not permitted nor tolerated and people who don’t comply are quickly removed from the park and banned. Like any family campground, there are children present. One thing I need to make clear: Bare Oaks is a family park, not a party zone. There are a lot of couples, many families, and quite a few single people. There are people of all ages, about the same amount of men and women.

When you walk around, you can see people tanning, reading, barbecuing, socializing, swimming, walking the dog – and just about anything else you see in any campground. Some people come up for the day, some can stay for weeks, and some live there permanently.

Inside the park there is a pool, a volleyball court, a restaurant called “Bare Bistro,” camping grounds for rent, a variety store, a pond to jump in, a garden and a trailer community. You quickly learn that clothing is only used as a tool. Many of the park’s visitors love to swim and said repeatedly they couldn’t understand how anyone would want to wear a wet soggy bathing suit while swimming. In that time I noticed that people embraced nature in a way that most of us just can’t.įor instance, many embraced jogging or daily hikes, relishing in the gentle breezes of the woods.

I was lucky enough to be given access to this campground for several days. Even the workers at the front desk when you arrive are naked. It is hard to trust someone who is wearing clothing among a group of people who are willing to bare it all.

In other words, this was not a clothing optional campground - if you are uncomfortable being nude, you will be asked to leave. Inside the naturist community at Bare Oaks, clothing is only used for protection, whether it be from the cold or from work that might injure your body, but most of the time you would never see a naturist in clothing unless they left the park and went into the general public. The International Federation of Naturism defines the term as “a way of life in harmony with nature, characterized by the practice of communal nudity, with the intention of encouraging respect for oneself, respect for others and respect for the environment.” Most people might be familiar with the ideas of naturism or nudism.

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