Advocates champion a family-friendly nude beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast
Tampa Bay Free Beaches launches an international letter-writing campaign to sway Pinellas County officials to designate Ft. De Soto’s East Beach as the region’s first legal clothing-optional site
For decades, Florida’s west coast has lacked what its Atlantic counterpart enjoys: a legal, family-friendly clothing-optional beach. However, Tampa Bay Free Beaches (TBFB), a not-for-profit advocacy group, hopes that may soon change. The organization has announced an October 1, 2025 launch for a major letter-writing campaign designed to persuade Pinellas County commissioners to approve a clothing-optional designation at East Beach in Ft. De Soto Park.
Jack Clark, Treasurer/Secretary of TBFB and one of the leaders behind the effort to establish a family-friendly clothing-optional beach in the Tampa Bay area, told Planet Nude that the group began with a two-pronged strategy. “One was to work with all the state nudist organizations to change State Parks’ anti-nudity rule,” he said. That rule, enacted in 1996, shut down all traditional, longstanding nude recreation sites in Florida’s state parks and left the state with only four legal options—all on the Atlantic coast, often on federal land. On the Gulf side, Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island State Park had once seemed promising candidates, but after nearly three decades of unsuccessful lobbying for a rule change, hopes for a state-park solution had dimmed.
The second prong, Clark explained, was repairing strained relationships with Pinellas County officials. That step proved critical, since East Beach—the site that ultimately rose to the top as the strongest candidate—is located in Pinellas. “East Beach met everything we were looking for—no cross traffic, parking, handicapped accessibility, showers, and relatively unused.”
Veteran naturist lobbyist Ramon Maury, who has been advising TBFB, sees Ft. De Soto’s East Beach as a unique opportunity for economic and recreational growth in Pinellas County. “We set our eyes on Pinellas County after having searched basically from Pensacola, almost down Key West. [East Beach] was the only beach that made any sense and that meets literally every single criteria we were looking for,” Maury said. “If we had to create it, we couldn’t have created it any better.”
Years of groundwork
Since its formation, Maryanne Rettig, President of TBFB, and the whole TBFB Leadership Team have steadily built credibility with local officials and institutions. Clark points to a growing list of partnerships: the group has become active members of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce, built relationships with on committees, joined legislative delegations to Tallahassee, and partnered Visit St. Pete–Clearwater. They even raised funds for hurricane relief to support workers after storms damaged barrier island businesses. More recently, TBFB was invited to give a presentation at a Beach Referral Team meeting, and representatives now attend monthly Tourist Development Council meetings as well as Visit St. Pete–Clearwater events.
“We have become embedded as a working partner with the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber and volunteered for many committees,” Maryanne Rettig, TBFB’s president told Planet Nude. “We accompanied them to Tallahassee during the legislative session. TBFB raised funds to help the unemployed workers after the two hurricanes damaged many barrier island businesses. TBFB was recently requested to do a PowerPoint presentation at the Beach Referral Team meeting. We attend the monthly Tourist Development Council meetings as well as Visit St. Pete–Clearwater events. We have become well recognized among decision-makers and have built a trusting and respected working relationship. We are working to do this as a team with them and being patient so as not to create any unforeseen issues. We want this to be a collaborative effort between TBFB, the County, Visit St. Pete–Clearwater, and the Chamber.”
The path has not been without hurdles. “Funding and focused education are key to getting over the preconceived norms of society on nudism,” Clark said when asked about the biggest obstacles. The group has operated on member donations, occasional grants, and fundraisers selling towels and hats. “Our sister 501(c)(3), Normalizing Nudity by Education Advocacy and Research (NNEAR), was formed to facilitate fundraising options,” he said. Despite limited resources, TBFB has worked to keep advocates like Maury at the table. “He is an invaluable member of our team.”
Maury stressed the political sensitivities around the effort: “We are at an image crossroads where we have elected officials that are interested in assisting us and behind closed doors, they see our plan and they go, yes, this makes sense. You’ve crossed all your T’s, you’ve dotted your I’s. But at the end of the day, some of the commissioners are still concerned about being perceived as supporting nude beaches anywhere. We want to make it clear that we are focused exclusively on East Beach as a family-friendly clothing-optional destination.”
The October campaign
Now, with some county commissioners signaling interest but others undecided, TBFB believes the time is right to demonstrate broad support. On October 1, the group will launch a campaign to flood commissioners with letters from local residents, domestic tourists, and international naturists.
“The goal of the letter-writing campaign is to advocate and educate the Pinellas County Commission so they can decide on a favorable designation,” Clark explained.
Maury echoed the importance of this step. “We really need to show this new commission that there is a demand from naturists in Florida and around the globe. We have named our letter-writing campaign, ‘If You Build It, They Will Come.’”
How to help
Naturists around the world are invited to participate. Letters—whether by email or traditional post—can make a difference in persuading Pinellas County officials. TBFB emphasizes that correspondence with county officials is a matter of public record in Florida, so supporters who prefer privacy may want to send physical letters rather than emails.
To make the process easy, Tampa Bay Free Beaches has created a campaign package. Inside are:
Step-by-step instructions on how to send your message.
Contact information for all Pinellas County Commissioners.
Sample letter templates you can copy or adapt, covering key points like tourism benefits, family-friendly values, and community support.
Guidance on best practices, including why mailed letters may carry extra weight with officials.
This package is designed to remove guesswork and help supporters everywhere take effective action. Those interested can access the campaign materials directly from Tampa Bay Free Beaches at tampabayfreebeaches.org, or download the full toolkit below.
Download the letter-writing toolkit:
With a coordinated push from both local advocates and international naturists, Pinellas County could soon see history made: the first legally recognized clothing-optional beach on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
“Thank you for helping us create a world-class destination for you,” Maury says. 🪐