The clothing-optional beaches in Washington, with what the law actually says, where to park, how far the walk is, and what a first visit is like.
5 spots have been written up by hand. A further 15 are on the map from public data but nobody has confirmed them yet.
Someone has actually been to each of these. Where we are unsure, the spot page says so.
Lake Washington, Seattle · Seattle
Getting there. Small lakefront park, long-standing unofficial nude beach. Street parking only.
Rules on the ground. Customary/tolerated; not officially designated. WA indecent-exposure law requires intent.
If it is your first time. Compact and can be crowded on hot days. Seattle's best-known nude beach.
Near Bellingham · Bellingham
Getting there. Secluded saltwater beach, clothing-optional by custom.
Rules on the ground. Customary/tolerated.
If it is your first time. Northern WA; a destination trip from the launch core.
Lake Washington, Seattle · Seattle
Getting there. Secluded lakefront strip reached by a wooded path. Quieter alternative to Denny Blaine.
Rules on the ground. Customary/tolerated.
If it is your first time. More private than Denny Blaine. The path down is a bit hidden.
Washougal River, Skamania County · SW Washington
Getting there. Up Washougal River Road from Camas/Washougal. A string of falls and emerald pools; the clothing-optional custom is strongest at the upper 'Naked Falls' pools. Roadside pullouts; can get crowded and rowdy on hot summer weekends.
Rules on the ground. Customary/tolerated along the river — not an officially designated area. WA indecent-exposure law turns on intent.
If it is your first time. Long called one of the best skinny-dip spots in the country. Go on a weekday — summer weekends draw big, party-ish crowds. Mind the current after rain.
Wanapum Reservoir · Central Washington
Getting there. Reservoir shoreline nude beach, clothing-optional by custom.
Rules on the ground. Customary/tolerated.
If it is your first time. Desert-side reservoir; hot and dry in summer.
These come from OpenStreetMap. They are real places at real coordinates, but nobody has been to them for us yet, so there is no write-up — no parking notes, no word on whether the road is open, no clothing policy. We label them exactly that way rather than pretending otherwise.
If you go to one, you can be the first person to confirm it, and you stay credited on that spot permanently.
Washington's indecent exposure statute, RCW 9A.88.010, requires an open and obscene exposure that the person knows is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm. Nudity by itself is not the offence — the statute is aimed at conduct directed at someone, and it explicitly exempts breastfeeding. Washington courts have read it narrowly for that reason.
This is not a green light, and please do not read it as one. A state statute is only the first of several rules that apply where you are standing. Counties and cities pass their own ordinances, and the land manager — the Forest Service, the BLM, State Parks, a county parks department, a private owner — sets its own rules on top of the law and can enforce them regardless of what the statute says. A place can be perfectly lawful under state law and still get you a citation from a ranger.
What we do on each spot page is tell you what is actually known about that specific place: who manages it, whether nudity is customary or designated there, and what people who have been report. Where we do not know, we say we do not know. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice.
Statute: RCW 9A.88.010. Last reviewed August 2026. If you think anything here is out of date, tell us — we would rather be corrected than wrong.
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