8/01

Visited Herring Cove beach near Provincetown, Massachusetts. This is a beautiful beach at the very tip of Route 6 on Cape Cod. The beach is divided into areas used by families, lesbians, and gays as one walks along the beach. There are no physical boundaries between these areas - just the way people gather. Topless was being practiced all over the beach with some topfree women playing Frisbee and other beach games. Every one was very comfortable and no one gave a second look. There were no gawkers either. I was comfortable laying down topfree as well as walking and taking a dip in the ocean. If you visit here, watch-out for the strong currents - this is not a swimming beach!

--Joyce, Boston, Massachusetts

1/00

The Cape Cod National Seashore provides plenty of opportunity for topfreedom. Cindy and I go often every summer and she never wears a top while on the beach. If you want to be with a crowd, go to Herring Cove in Provincetown. Walk to the left of the bathhouse. First is the lesbian section, then the gay male section. There are usually a few straight couples in the transition area between those two sections. Mind you, nothing is marked; it's just the way people congregate. A large percentage of the women go without tops. The atmosphere is very friendly and congenial - sort of like at a family beach. In fact, some people have kids with them. We sunbathe, swim, and walk the beach in our micro g-strings (sans top for Cindy) and feel completely comfortable and at ease. The area in front of the bathhouse and to the right is the real family section - no skimpy suits there. However, we walk to the bathhouse and go to the concession stand without any adjustments to our attire! Some people stare, so we don't linger longer than necessary in order to reduce the chances of complaints.

At any of the other CCNS beaches (in Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, and Eastham), we always walk to the fringes of the crowd (typically beyond the last lifeguard stand) before plopping our stuff down and peeling down to our g-strings. We don't make any effort to put a lot of extra space between us and the other people on the beach, though we do get a reasonable distance away. Often the space around us fills in with new arrivals. Most do not have skimpy swimwear nor do the women take their tops off, but we know that since they choose to be near us, they mustn't object to our bare butts and breasts. With this strategy, we never get a negative remark. Some people inquire about the legality, to which we reply that it's OK as long as no one complaints (that's basically true).

At all of these beaches, the park rangers patrol occasionally, but they seem to be on the lookout for nude sunbathers. They never seem to notice us. There's plenty of open beach to walk along. You may encounter topfree women or skinnydippers, but really not as many as you might expect with all of the wide expanses of sand and dunes. Once in a while we'll walk along the main (crowded) section of the beach. We keep a brisk pace but nevertheless find it amazing how few people seem to notice us. Of course some do, and stare, but comments are rare. The lifeguards notice us, but it's not their job to regulate swimwear fashions. On slow days, we've talked to the lifeguards, and, of course, they've seen just about everything. The female lifeguards give Cindy encouragement about being topfree. They wear bikinis smaller than you might think, and the male lifeguards have Speedos under their shorts. In general, people are becoming more tolerant of bare butts and bare breasts every year. We wish we'd see more couples with bathing suits like ours, but it really doesn't matter much. If you act naturally and respectfully and use a bit of common sense, you'll have a great time.

--Paul, Massachusetts