GAYS AND BEACHES!

A love affair with the sun, water, and nearly naked men! Gay beaches are everywhere … small ones, big ones, hidden ones, sandy ones, rocky ones.  Coast to coast, if there are gays around, there must be a gay beach!

Some of the most popular gay beaches include:

FIRE ISLAND / NEW YORK – Probably the most famous.  Home to two queer communities – for the  A-list gay crowd there is  the Pines and the everybody-welcome community of  Cherry Grove, forever separated by the infamous, forested Meat Rack (aka “The Petting Zoo”). Both boardwalk-lined gayborhoods are carless and hopping in summer, but you may need  connections to spend the night here. You just can’t show up and get a room!

Summer weekends are an event on the Island.  It takes some planning as well. You’ll need to coordinate train and ferry schedules if you don’t find a place to spend the night. A  MUST SEE if you are visiting New York in the Summer!

Florida – In South Beach you have the very gay 12th Street Gay Beach and in Fort Lauderdale you have Sebastian Street Gay Beach. Other gay favorite beaches include the unspoiled John U. Lloyd State Park just south of Fort Lauderdale in Dania Beach and  South of the city is the clothing-optional beach at Haulover State Park in North Miami. The gay section of the beach is at the North end. Please note: there are periodic rumors of arrests and raids at the beach. Nude sunbathing is technically illegal in Florida, however it has been tolerated at the north end of Haulover for years.

Farme Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – The gay spot at Ipanema Beach is a little to the East of Rua Farme de Amoedo. This is the best place to make friends with locals in a relaxed atmosphere, away from the bars and club scene.

While bears and trannies prefer to meet in Copacabana’s Bolsa, Gay Farme is “Barbie Land”. Barbie is how locals call muscled South Side gay men. Waxing is optional… You don’t have to be in top shape to join the fun, though. Farme is so traditional with the gay community, that even beach vendors display the rainbow flag. You may run into local TV stars, stranded socialites, families with children, there’s a little of everything.

Chicago. Chicago? Most people don’t think of beaches when they think of Chicago, but Chicago is home to  28 miles (45 km) man-made lakefront shoreline. There are twenty nine lakefront beaches in Chicago along the shore of Lake Michigan.

You’ll almost mistake Lake Michigan for an ocean with its vast expanse and seemingly endless shore. With beautiful blue water as far as the eye can see, you may think you’ve gone from Chicago to southern California.

The gay beach is Hollywood Beach. (AKA Kathy Osterman Beach) The gays and gay friendly people hang out at the southern end of the beach.  Weather permitting, the gay boys will be out sunnning themselves late April thru October! But any given Sunday in the summer there are about 200-300 people out here.

Hippie Hallow – Austin Texas – Situated on 109 peaceful acres, Hippie Hollow is a clothing optional park securely nestled in the natural beauty of the Hill County of Lake Travis, only 20 minutes off Interstate 35, but a world away from the bustle of nearby Austin, a haven for those who wish to escape the rigors of modern life in a safe and comfortable nudist atmosphere.   Hippie Hollow is internationally popular for sunbathing and swimming, welcoming visitors from all over the world. You’ll need shoes!  It’s very rocky. Many folks (both straight and gay) rent houseboats and cruise around the lake, making for weekends of Southern-style outdoor aqua parties. – Memorial Weekend and Labor Day are big gay SPLASH Weekend Parties.

Sydney Australia has Bondi Beach – If Sydney was famous for anything other than its Gay Life and friendly people, it would have to be her sparkling beaches.

Sydney is among cities of the world whose inner suburbs front onto exceptional ocean Beaches. Even in the brisk winter, one cannot visit Sydney without at least enjoying a drink or a meal overlooking the blue Pacific from one of Sydney many spectacular beaches. Naturally, Sydney’s warmer months from September to April, are the ideal times for visiting Sydney’s beaches.

At Bondi Beach, directly in front of the North Bondi Surf Club – Looking out to sea, this unofficial area is to the left, however you will find gay groups right along the beach. You also have 2 Nude Harbour Beaches – Obelisk Beach and Lady Jane Beach. After many years of flouting the law, Sydney sun-lovers and Naturalists, have got their way and the governing bodies have finally sanctioned nude bathing on these beaches.  Also Tamarama Beach (a.k.a. “Glamarama”) may not have the wedgie-Speedo wet dream lifeguards of Bondi Beach to the north, but the views are just as inspirational at this look-at-me gay cove lined with sandstone boulders, under the seaside mansions and sidewalks cafes of a posh Sydney neighborhood.

And we must mention the gay beach in Puerto Vallarta! Looking for a beach resort that offers a traditional Mexican flavor with lots of fun things to do? You might be looking for Puerto Vallarta, where you can lay out on the beach all day or do a gay boat tour with Diana, then cruise around town searching the shops for the best bargains and restaurants all night. And the choices of food are endless! You might have homemade Mexican fare one evening and dine at a 5 star epicurean delight the next!

Puerto Vallarta’s most popular beach, Playa de los Muertos, is located just south of the malecon and the River Cuale.  This beach is surrounded by the neighborhood of Olas Altas (Old Town or Zona Romantica), with it’s indescribable variety of restaurants and shops.   It is lined with beach front hotels and restaurants and is usually bustling with activity, sun worshipers by day, the dining and nightlife crowd after dark. The beach front bars and restaurants in this area are a great place to catch one of the incredible Vallarta sunsets.  

One section of the beach is very gay, around
the beach concession commonly known as the blue chairs, which sits in front of the Blue Chairs Resort. So many gays now come to the beach area it has to spread to neighboring chairs as well! In this area you’ll find hundreds of gay men and women sitting under the palapas (thatched umbrellas) or on towels nearer the surf line, soaking up the hot Mexican sun and socializing with gays from all over the world. Waiters can bring you drinks and food all day, so you never have to get up if you don’t want to! – They throw an awesome parties over Thanksgiving called VALLARTA FEVER and LATIN FEVER!

Tell us your favorite beach!

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