It was a long and cold winter this one. And like they say in Game of Thrones, winter is coming! That’s right, summer hasn’t even begun and winter is almost upon us. I know this because here in Canada, or at least in Eastern Canada, summer is very short. The amount of nice and hot weather that we get is quite disproportionate to the cold weather we are inflicted with each and every year.

That is why I rushed to Oka nude beach this year. It’s only May 2, and there I was, on my way to get a bit of sun on my buns.

Oka beach, located inside of Oka Provincial Park, is actually divided by both a textile side and a textile-free side. The nude side is actually an unofficial nude beach where going textile-free is simply tolerated by the authorities. Ask the Provincial Park staff at the gate if there is a nude beach on site and they’ll simply answer with a ”no comment”.

When you arrive at Oka beach and park your car, you actually have to walk a few minutes before you get to the clothing optional side. And for the first time out of all the times I’ve been, this year I noticed a couple of big signs along the trail that spelled out the criminal code offences in regards to public nudity. I had never noticed these signs before, and I was left to wonder if maybe all of sudden the unofficial nude beach was no longer.

If nudity on the clothing optional side were in fact no longer tolerated, I couldn’t help but think that society was definitely becoming more regressive, and that I would definitely be packing my bags in order to move to Vancouver, British Columbia, where Wreck beach is still alive and well.

Thankfully though I was doing all that thinking for nothing. When I arrived on the textile-free side I was happy to see several naked folks enjoying the sun on the beach. I asked a couple of nudists about the signs, and whether there had been any recent issues with law enforcement.

Apparently I had simply failed to notice these signs during my past visits because according to them, these signs have been there for years. I guess since it’s an unnoficial nude beach, putting these signs up allows the authorities to invoke the criminal code should they ever decide to. And maybe it dissuades folks from wandering off of the nude beach and shocking those that are not expecting to see the “horror” of a naked human body. Whatever the reasons for these signs, I was just happy to learn that the textile-free side is still in perfect working order.

While I wont delve into the criminal code as it relates to public nudity, allow me to say that I am in total disagreement and that I absolutely object to public nudity being a crime. We are born naked, nudity is natural, and so it shouldn’t be a criminal offence to wear your birthday suit, whenever and wherever you please.

Anyways, getting back to the subject of sun on my buns, I duly stripped my clothes off and spent the better part of the afternoon taking in the sun, enjoying the breeze and cherishing the total feeling of absolute freedom.

While the tide is quite high at this time of the year, meaning that beach space is quite limited along the shoreline, I was happy to see and speak with many nudists, including families with children. For Jade Sambrook there is no better way to educate your child against feelings of body shame than to let them build sand castles on a clothing optional beach.

I’ll definitely be going to the nude beach often this spring and summer, and thanks to that I will gladly live without any tan lines. I know that winter is fast approaching and I therefore wont miss the opportunity to freely enjoy nature the way it was intended to be enjoyed – naked – on the beach and everywhere possible.