Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Article: Restoration of Bates Beach Sought


Bates Beach, also known at Rincon Beach, is located in Santa Barbara County north of Los Angeles. At the behest of the homeowners of beach-front property overlooking this beautiful area, deputies have been enforcing the county's No Nudity laws on the beach.

Photos by Joseph A. Garcia / Star staff A sign is posted on the cliff-side path leading to the long, narrow Bates Beach. Members of the Southern California Naturist Association are campaigning for a designated place where they can be free of laws and clothing.

. . . about seven years ago, when local residents started complaining about the hundreds of nudists who flocked to the beach, along with the perverts, gawkers and other nefarious characters who came to watch, Carpinteria police starting cracking down on those who stripped down. Soon, the nude beach that for years had slipped under the radar of officials was gone.

Now, a "Nudity prohibited" sign juts from the cliff-side path leading to the long, narrow beach, an ominous warning for those who dare to try to embrace the beach's past.

Robinson and her fellow nudists want to change all that.

On a recent Saturday, Robinson and about half a dozen other members of the Southern California Naturist Association sunbathed clothed while flying a banner for their group to raise awareness for their cause.

They want a little stretch of beach to call their own, a designated place where they can be free of laws and clothing and be naked as the day they were born.


The article is worth reading, especially the give and take of the comments pro and con by readers.

A more recent article and an online poll was published in The Santa Barbara Independent on Jun 25th

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