5/02
I went to Ceasar's Creek on Sunday (05/05/02) with my boyfriend. For those not familiar with the park, there is a long, curved beach about a quarter mile long with a large mowed grassy area between it and the parking lot. This grassy area is criss-crossed by concrete sidewalks which are good for skating or roller blading. The grassy area is about a block wide, and the refreshment stand and restrooms are way up by the parking lot. There are also huge changing areas at the rest rooms, but the rest rooms and changing areas are only opened during the summer season. Most people change in their cars.
There now seems to be three "popular" areas for thonging and topfree beach use. There is the old standby, which everyone calls "the hill" which is the grassy area to the left of the last parking area, and which affords some privacy since anyone coming towards you can be seen early enough that you can cover up or roll over. For years, this area was about the only place you could go and be assured of other thongers and/or topfree. This has been a no-hassle area for years, and you will always have some other people in minimal swimwear for support.
The beach itself is now quite popular, especially with thongers. It used to be that beach thongers went to the far ends, but now they set up anyplace there is space. I have been encourages by the number of women going topfree on the beach. I haven't seen anyone get harassed on the beach
The newest area is in the grass immediately adjacent to the first, or right-hand parking lot. Every time I've gone this season, there have been at least one or two people in thongs, and twice there have been topfree women too.
These folks are very opened, since anyone driving by can see what they are (or maybe I should say are not) wearing.
Yesterday, we got there about noon, and the beach was already busy. Temperatures were about 72 when we got there, and went up to 78 by the time we left, but the water was just too cold for me to take. When we pulled in, a man in dork shorts and his GF in a skimpy thong bikini were laying on a blanket in the grass next to their camper. The guy was trying to talk the girl into going topfree, and the girl was teasing him by uncovering then recovering her top. My boyfriend suggested that I shed my top right there, to encourage her, even though I usually wait to see what the crowd is like first.
I left my top in the car, and my boyfriend and I went down to the water. Later, two women, who we learned were from Holland came down and took their tops off too. They said they had heard about Caesar's creek from the internet and decided to visit since we had nice weather.
When we left about 2:00, the woman at the parking lot had removed her top and was playing frisbee, topless, with her boyfirend. She got over her shyness a lot quicker than the first time I went topfree.
One thing about Ceasar's creek is that not all the women who go topfree, or men who wear thongs look like models. Some of them are old, some are fat, and many are just average. It is encouraging to all women when they have role models that are real people, not just women with great figures. Another encouraging thing is that many of the women are taking their tops off for family picnics and hiking or bike riding, the times when no one would question a man removing his top. At these times, women are now accepted doing the same.
--Traci, Xenia, Ohio
4/02
Went to Caesar's creek on 4/11/02. I was surprised to see two women topfree laying about 50 feet from the parking lot, in plain view of anyone who drove by. There was also a male thonger set up at the very edge of the parking lot! I shed my top at the beach. It was about 80 and I counted 10 women, 6 in thongs and 3 topless and 7 men, 4 in thongs. Maybe this year, thongs and topfree beach use is on the rise again here, after last year's good start but rapid decline.
--Traci, Ohio
8/01
Your recent reports about Caesar's creek are generally accurate, not many women are going topfree any more. Part of this is because there are no life guards any more. The male lifeguards used to actually encourage women to go topfree and assured women who did go topfree (at their encouragement or not) that they would defend a woman's rights to be topfree. If there were any problems, the lifequard acted like a body guard and chased "dirty old men" and trouble makers away, or called for help on the radio if they needed to.
Now beach patrols are done by uniformed park rangers, water-craft officers, and county and local police departments. These officials generally drive along the walk near the beach, checking things out. A woman who is topfree, or a group of thongers offen draw these officer's attention, and they will stop, sometimes for ten minutes or more, and sit in their air conditioned cars and stare. This is not comforting to first-time thongers/topfree women and really is a form of harassment. The regulars know that no matter how long they sit there, they really can't do anything except stare, since Ohio laws still permit topfree beach use and thongs.
Another item which hurt topfree beach use was a television report aired on local stations July 4, 2001 which reported that there would be a "crack down" on thongers and topfree women at Caesar's Creek. I have written both state and local park officials, and they all have indicated that the story was erroneous. The actual story was that a state congress person from Mentor, Ohio (near Cleveland) was introducing legislation to ban topfree beaches and thongs in Ohio parks. How the local stations turned this into a "crackdown" I cannot explain.
Another problem is that there is an increase in the number of "gangs" of young men -- 16-25 who cruise the beach and make lewd comments.
I still go to Caesar's Creek, usually once or twice a week. Occasionally I will go topfree, if the beach isn't too busy. I have seen topfree women more often in the early morning (before 11:00 AM) on weekdays or after 5:00 PM. Weekend topfree beach use is very rare. Some women are using the hill, traditionally the place for male thongers to hang out since they don't get bothered as much and have plenty of time to cover up if someone unfriendly is heading their way.
As far as the condition of the beach goes, all I can say is we have what we have. The Canadian geese are becoming a problem all over Ohio, not only at parks, but anyplace where there is water and some mowed grass for them to eat. Flocks of them hang around office parks and malls that have lakes or fountains. None of the in-land lake beaches in Ohio have pristine sand, and most others in the area (ie Buck Creek, Huston Woods, Cowin Lake, etc.) are even more muddy. Based on the amount of stuff stuck to my towel when I leave, Caesar's Creek is the least muddy beach of all the local ones I have visited.
--Traci, Ohio
8/01
My husband and I were visiting in-laws in Dayton when we decided to see what Caesar's Creek State Park was all about. It's named after an escaped slave from Virginia who joined the Shawnee tribe and was a contemporary of Daniel Boone's.
We were not impressed at all. We didn't see any topfree women, but what we did see plenty of was Canada goose droppings! All along the sidewalks surrounding the mud "beach"! The sidewalks probably weren't cleaned since the winter, and you had to pick your way very carefully, else you would cover your shoes in it.
As for the water, it's a fairly narrow, roped in area. And (I can't believe it) the people there had the NERVE to allow their DOGS to swim there!! I motioned to my husband, and we left immediately.
My husband went back a second time without me, and he again reported no topfree women. He did overhear a kid mention that Canada goose excrement covered the bottom of the creek, and he saw a young boy flinging some of it around. YUCK!!!!!!!
--Wendy, Toledo, Ohio
8/01
I have been to Caesar Creek several times this year, and inspite of the reports of previous posters I have not seen many thongs and no toplessness. I don't know if it is the time of day or the day of the week but the action is almost nil. I was given to believe that there was a thong club at "the Creek." If there is I have seen no evidence of it. It seems like this year with the lack of lifeguards there would be more people shedding not less. I really hope it is just me and not some modesty trend.
--Ken, Cincinnati
8/01
Well, we went to Caesar's Creek beach today, where some other reports have said it is practiced and tolerated. Alas, among all the people there wasn't ONE woman top-free, and since it was our first time there, I thought it prudent to not have her be the first in case there was something we didn't know. Is this because it was a Saturday between 2pm and 3pm, and should we try a different day of the week? It was certainly beautiful weather, and lots of people, but the only difference between this beach and most others in the area is that there were a few guys in thongs.
So, the people that have had good experiences, please clue us on when to try again.
-Brian, Cincinnati, Ohio
6/01
I've been going to Caesar's Creek for years, and have used the beach topfree on most visits for a couple of years. This year, topfree use of the beach and park seems way up from past years. I have traditionally shed my top down by the water, but put it on when I left the sand. This was pretty much the way most woman did it in the past. This year, the other girls are running around not only the beach, but up on the lawn and to and from the restrooms and vending areas, or to and from their cars, wearing nothing but a thong and a smile. This is so cool! It has given me the courage to do the same, even when I'm by myself.
There has been absolutely no negative feedback this year from anybody. Men or women can wear thongs, and woman can choose to spend the whole day without a top, and nobody seems to care.
Today, I saw a family, husband, wife, teenage son, and a younger son and daughter enjoying the sun together. The mother was topfree and never wore a top from the time she got out of her car until the family left due to a thunderstorm. The kids were totally cool with mom being topfree and nobody gave her more than a passing glance. I think it's positive when a family is seen and one of the family is topfree or thonging it.
My boyfriend, Randy and I are both into thongs and wear them whenever we can get away with it. Last weekend, we took the Caesar's Creek Gorge trail (about 1.5 miles) which starts along the creek at the base of the dam. We had been at the beach, and were wearing just our thongs. Since it was so hot, we figured that maybe we'd be more comfortable if we didn't bother to change, so we took the trail wearing our thongs and with me topfree. Nobody who past us on the trail seemed the least bit bothered by our lack of traditional clothes. We even climbed down the hill to the spillway to pick up some fossils and even though there were a dozen or so other rock collectors around, nobody seemed to mind our thongs or my being topless. A nice man brought over a large trilobite he had just found and showed us were to look for more! This was so cool! Being topfree, thonging it with my boyfriend, and being accepted no differently than anybody else.
--Traci, Dayton, Ohio
5/01
Caesar's Creek State Park near Cincinnati continues to be an excellent topfree beach. Stay near the center of the beach 50 yards or so north of the lifeguard chair; the south end is too crowded and the north end is the boater's beach. The lifeguards are very supportive and the locals are used to topfree sunbathers, as long as you cover up when walking around.
--John, Ohio
9/99
I am a guy who's into wearing thongs, and can report firsthand that topfree is alive in Ohio. Unfortunately, none of my recent girlfriends have been interested in shedding their tops when we have gone to the beach, but I used to go with a girl (Traci) who became very opened about removing her top at the beach or pool.
Earlier this year, Traci was back visiting her parents, and we went to Caesar's Creek in south western Ohio. Besides Traci, there was another women laying out topfree. A few years ago, a woman laying out in just a thong would have been hassles, but this year no one seemed to even notice. It is also a very popular spot for thongers, like myself, and thongs are now accepted all over the beach.
--Randy, Ohio