RCA Beach (nude)

Category: C/O Beaches

GPS GeoCoords: 37.913377, -122.730321

(San Francisco Bay Guardian 2005)
Recommended!

One of the little-known treasures of this guide is beautiful RCA Beach, about four miles north of Bolinas. If you'd like to discover a sensational spot for some solitude, don't forget to bring your walking shoes for a long, moderately steep trail to the site. Want to surf naked? Almost anything goes at RCA, where surfers, sunbathers, and hikers mingle, and the clad and unclad, males and females, singles, couples, and families, straights and gays, all share the shoreline.

Legal status: The Nature Conservancy bought this land in 1977, then transferred it to the Point Reyes National Seashore, which turned around and leased it to Commonwealth Health Center, a nonprofit medical clinic. Official Point Reyes policy is that if there are complaints, nudists will be asked to move elsewhere. In practice, however, just about everyone at RCA is nude.

How to find it: From Highway 1, go eight miles west on Olema-Bolinas Road to Mesa Road in Bolinas. Turn right and stay on Mesa until you see cars parked past the MCI antennas. Park and walk a quarter mile to the end of the pavement. Go left through the gap in the fence. The trail leads to a gravel road. Follow it until you see a path on your right, leading through a gate. Take it along the cliff top until it veers down to the beach. Or continue along Mesa until you come to a grove of eucalyptus trees. Enter through the gate here, then hike a half mile through a cow pasture on a path that will also bring you through thick brush. The second route is slippery and eroding but less steep.

The beach: Decent sand that's good for almost every common beach activity.

The crowd: Almost everyone at RCA sunbathes in the buff. Though seldom deserted, RCA is never crowded.

Problems: First trail mentioned in bluffs area somewhat steep, other trail slippery and eroding. Long hike, rapid current, cold water, swimming not recommended.

Rating: A.

According to the WANR site, this beach has a long and established history as a clothing-optional beach. It is also listed by http://californiacoastline.org as a clothing-optional beach. View some high-resolution images of this beach here