First-time visit to Naked Man at Laguna del Sol

Inside one of the West Coast’s largest nude gatherings that you’ve probably never heard of

The flaming effigy burns during the Naked Man celebration at Laguna del Sol, 2014 | © Jeffrey Klein, J&M Photography

What is Naked Man?

It’s a more naked version of Burning Man, of course.

What does that mean? Well, it captures the original concepts of the burn, which is a giant collaborative collection of people gathering together. This means you can walk around, and other participants will feed you, provide drinks, help make artwork, and have great conversations. In addition, the event hosts dances, a balloon bowl, a tutu parade, and a fantastic fireworks show. Since it’s not in the middle of a desert, you also have access to several swimming pools, showers, a bustling restaurant, and other amenities. There are homes on site for the full-time residents, 28 rooms and park model cottages, over a hundred RV hook-ups, and dry camping.

I don’t know the exact number of participants, but it’s over 1,000, and I’ve been told it’s been even bigger in the past. Which means outside of a couple World Naked Bike Rides, this makes it one of the largest nudist events up or down the West Coast and possibly even across the US. So why then is it unlikely that you have ever heard of the event unless you have previously visited Laguna del Sol? That’s the main question I pondered upon this first visit.

Part of it is by design. Laguna del Sol, which is about 30 minutes south of Sacramento, California, has a strict policy that requires a tour for first-time visitors. This is the typical tour you might have done at other nude resorts, but Laguna is large, so they take you around via golf cart and explain the policies and expected behaviors. Due to the huge number of people attending Naked Man, they don’t give these tours within a week of the event. This means you have to have visited Laguna at least once before and taken the intro tour. Luckily, both my wife and I had done this a couple years earlier and we were still in the system.

Secondly, although Laguna is large, at 250 acres, part of that is a central lake, and part is undeveloped, so the current number of participants and the many large RVs they arrive in, already take up a huge portion of the available space. Hook-ups are limited, the main pool becomes standing room only, so basically the event has no reason that it needs to grow.

Does that mean it shouldn’t advertise more? I would say absolutely not! It is a wonderful event for new nudists to attend, as there is so much to do, where the fact that you are naked is just a minor aspect among all the festivities and socialization. Surprisingly, the gender and age diversity of the event was really good, at least compared to my preconceived expectations. It was awesome to see at least a handful of families with young children participating, too.

A map of the grounds designed specifically for the 2025 Naked Man event.

My impressions

So what was it like for a first-time visitor to Naked Man itself? Well, it was very intimidating at first! Since they aren’t giving tours, it’s just sort of expected that you know where to go. There was a map and some ideas of where to go to find camping spots, but this was definitely a make-your-own adventure. It’s also a very distributed event, with lots of small events scattered everywhere. Luckily, we did have friends we were meeting who had been there before, and they gave us some ideas of what to expect. However no one has pockets, so cell phones mostly get tucked away, and finding each other is more challenging. But I forget that I already know a bunch of nudists! I ran into at least 15 friends over the weekend, and since it’s such a social event, making new friends was easy, even for an introvert like me!

I am not a drinker, but if you are, then this event has you covered. The chocolinis were a popular hit, and beer crawls are a common activity. Water, soda and virgin lemonades were also freely available for those like me. Just follow the large, pink flamingos! One of the main events, at 2:22 pm on Saturday is the tutu parade! (Thus the oft-repeated phrase of tutus at 2:22). They were just short of the previous record, with the official count of 200 people wearing tutus and marching in the parade, which snaked through the pool area, restaurant, and nearby grounds.

Later that night there was a fireworks show that completely exceeded my expectations! There was a standing effigy purposely set on fire to celebrate the Burning Man roots, followed by a fireworks display that would rival those run by small cities! There was some unplanned excitement in addition to the fireworks, but it all turned out well!

Post fireworks, there was a big dance lasting into the night. I’m not a dancer, so I only passed through. It is interesting to see the variety of dress and undress in a clothing-optional dance. This starts to stretch the bounds of a family-friendly event, but that’s a whole different topic to delve into.

One of the most personally memorable moments of the weekend was joining a random group of long-time residents as we were just walking by. It turned into a fun and in-depth conversation, and we got to meet the person who ran Laguna’s archery range for a number of years. Both my wife and I coach collegiate archery teams and travel to compete at tournaments around the country, so it was one of those great chance encounters!

Final thoughts

Overall, it was an amazing weekend and I highly recommend it to anyone who is considering it. If you don’t want to wait until next year, then Laguna also has a Nudestock event in mid-September. That’s the more naked version of Woodstock.

A couple of days after the event, the Laguna del Sol newsletter announced that after a several-year gap, they had just elected three people to the AANR West Board of Directors. As one of only four landed clubs left in California, this is great news to hear, and will hopefully significantly increase their outreach for events like this going forward. 🪐