People may have a harder time enjoying a swim at NJ’s nude beach

If you’ve never been to New Jersey’s only legal nude beach, here’s one thing you should know: Nobody cares what you look like.

Really.

Gunnison Beach at Sandy Hook has spent decades building a reputation as one of the most accepting beaches anywhere. Sure, it’s clothing-optional, but regulars will tell you it’s far less about showing off than it is about not worrying.

time lapse photography of blue waves splashing

No expensive swimsuits, no judging, no tan lines. Just sun, sand and the occasional awkward first-timer wondering where exactly they’re supposed to look. No, I've never been. But looks-wise, from what I hear, I'd fit right in.

The beach became clothing-optional in the 1970s after Sandy Hook became part of the federally managed Gateway National Recreation Area. Because it’s on federal land rather than state or local property, Gunnison remains New Jersey’s only legal nude beach.

It takes its name from nearby Battery Gunnison, a former coastal defense installation built to protect New York Harbor more than a century ago.

the sun is setting over the water at the beach

Now the beach is making headlines for something less revealing and more annoying.

Some visitors are furious after the National Park Service shortened the portable walking mats called mobi-mats that help beachgoers cross the deep sand.

Instead of extending much closer to the water as they have in previous summers, the mats now end significantly farther back, forcing everyone to slog through a much longer stretch of soft sand. A quarter-mile's worth.

That may sound like a minor inconvenience until you’re hauling a cooler, beach chairs, an umbrella and everything else. For older visitors and people with disabilities causing mobility issues, it’s more than an annoyance. Many regulars say it makes reaching the water considerably more difficult.

a field of grass with the sun shining through the clouds

According to a report on nj.com, the walking path was shortened because there are currently no lifeguards there. So park officials are apparently discouraging swimming by making it harder to get to the water? Interesting solution.

People have been complaining and an online petition has garnered hundreds of signatures.  The petition claims these mobility mats are available but sitting unused in a storage locker. Lawmakers are also being contacted.

Could they settle this dispute over a friendly game of strip poker? Seriously though, it seems a better solution is needed rather than just making the water more difficult to get to, especially when disabled people are the biggest victims of this.

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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