9/04
We just got back from the North
Carolina Outer Banks. It was my
first time there, We were at the beach in
12/02
James and I just returned from a week on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Based on previous reports, we went to ramp 70 in Ocracoke to do some sunbathing. We asked the National Park Service ranger working at our campsite to confirm that topfreedom was legal and she said it was and described it as pretty common actually. So I went to the beach and didn't even take a bathing suit top, just wore my thong for two days straight, ALL day. Those familiar with this section of beach know that fisherman can drive up and down, so I'm estimating maybe 200 people drove by each day within maybe 20 feet or so of where I was laying and another 40 or 50 shared our section of beach as actual sunbathers. After we realized no one was giving us two thoughts, James and I went for a couple a walk to look for shells. When that went well, we went for more walks, each longer than the last, until I was gone from the towel for about an hour at one point. Mind you, we're walking past groups of fisherman and families doing all this. Every now and then a driver would glance and glance again, but most would just look over and proceed with their business. Honestly, I didn't really care if passersby stared anyway... a ranger just told me it was legal! Honestly, I can't remember a more relaxed vacation. The people of Ocracoke were just mega-relaxed. Then just to be sure, I asked a different ranger the second day who confirmed that topfreedom was legal, though full nudity was not, and that this applied to the entire Hatteras National Seashore!
Report 2:
After two days enjoying the beaches of Ocracoke to the south, we moved north to Coquina Beach, about 15 miles south of Nags Head. At our second campsite, I again asked two rangers for their interpretations of the topfree policy. They said topfreedom was legal, though the more north you go, the less it is allowed. I asked them to elaborate and they said that once you leave the national seashore and go to Nags Head, it is illegal to be topfree, but otherwise it was okay. They pointed specifically to Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge as a place where people go...but that's super-isolated and in my mind kind of defeats the whole purpose. So we went to Coquina Beach, which is a "swim beach", meaning no cars passing. Again, I spent two entire days in just my thong, walking up and down amongst a respectable crowd of people, playing frisbee, laying around, whatever. The attitude was so relaxed I found myself just... happy! No worries at all. About day two I totally forgot I wasn't wearing a shirt. It was great. Honestly, what an exhilarating week. I'm so excited about the whole thing I think I'm going to write a letter of appreciation to the incredible ranger staff of the Hatteras shore. Then I'm going to call the staff at the national seashores here at Assateague and Chincoteague and see how they feel about the topic. Stay tuned.
--Katherine and James, Princess
Anne, Maryland
8/02
I got together with a few friends of mine in Corolla on North Carolina's Outer Banks. We rented a house right on the beach which made it possible for us to fully enjoy our vacation by not even bringing our tops down to the water! I don't think that a single one of the women on the trip wore a top on the beach. It was my first time going topfree, and it was a liberating experience. Once I got over the initial feeling not having a top on, I was able to relax like I have never relaxed before. It was fantastic! As far as other people on the beach, they seemed not to be bothered by it, other than the occasional double-take. The ability to go topfree will definitely influence my future travel plans.
--Julie, Norfolk, Virginia
5/02
I have lived in the Hampton Roads area for a number of years. We always drive down to the Outer Banks rather than using the Virginia Beach, which is much closer. In Virginia Beach thongs are illegal. I have always worn thongs on the Outer Banks without a problem, even when going into 7-11 for ice. There are number places you can go topfree once you cross over the bridge onto to Pea Island. Although I have had occasionally dirty looks from some people on the beach - almost always older women - I have had no other problems. As someone else reported, if you try and go totally nude, you risk a citation. However, topless with a thong shouldn't be a problem. If you want seclusion, I suggest the wildlife refuge just north of Rodanthe. There is no driving on the beach and during the week it is almost totally deserted. Many times I have walked from the beach there to my car or vice verse wearing only thong bottoms. The only result was an occasional car honk and wave.
--Claudette, Virginia Beach, Virginia
7/00
Topfreedom seems a little less popular this year on the outer banks as do thong swimsuits on the women. Nudity is technically illegal and you could be cited, but thongs are okay on both men and women and so is topfreedom. Any place a man can go topfree a women can go topfree too.
--Traci, Ohio
7/00
I am from NC, and under NC state law, it is NOT illegal for a woman to go "topfree". A woman's breasts are not considered "private parts", so in most places a man can go shirtless, so can a woman. There are some exceptions, however. Individual towns or counties may have their own law against women going topfree, and in any NC State Park it is illegal.
But in most places, a woman can
go topfree in NC legally. I know a police officer, and where we
live, a woman could walk down any street in town topfree, and
there's nothing the police could do. It isn't done only because
it isn't common knowledge that a woman can go topfree legally.
1/00
Actually, I am male, and have not been to a local beach, but I do want to say that there was a topless problem a couple years back and the locals were wondering why the police just let the woman go topless. His response: It is not "against the law" in North Carolina to go topless. Something we were surprised to hear. Why it is not used more, I don't know, but that probably explains why so many different beaches are represented here in the reports.
--Boyd, Greensboro, NC
11/99
The first time I shed my top in public was at the beach in North Carolina. Randy was so damn laid back about running around in just a thong at the beach that when he ask me if I'd like to shed my top, like another young woman nearby, I didn't feel at all uncomfortable.
I'm surprised nobody has sent in a report about the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Here you have more than 60 miles of beaches -- everything from totally deserted to quite busy. Nudity on the beaches is illegal, but thongs are acceptable on both the guys and the girls.
Topfree use of the beach is legal and well tolerated. I've vacationed three times in the last five years in this area. It seems the further south you go, the more people are willing to show some skin. A lot of Canadians from Quebec and Ontario go there for summer vacations, and I've always noticed that they seem less inhibited than their neighbors in the USA.
The only negative experiences I've had have been when we've gone to beaches where 4 X 4 trucks are permitted. It seems that most 4-wheel drivers are foul mouthed and feel it necessary to make cat calls or lewd comments, both about my topfreedom and Jason's bare buns. Once Jason and I were both sunning our backs wearing just our skimpiest G-strings. A 4-wheeler came by with two guys who hopped out and ask us if we wanted lotion rubbed into our buns. I guess they thought Jason was a chick, since he's got long hair which he had tied back into a pony tail. You should have seen those idiots scram when Jason stood up and told them to get lost. (Jason's a pretty fit guy who could clobber anyone if he ever had to.)
I also once had a guy stop his car in front of our house and glare at me while I washed the car in the driveway, topless and wearing just a thong. He stood around for about fifteen minutes. After I finished and went inside he eventually left. But there is a lot more positive than negative on the Outer Banks. The only times I'll even bother to wear a top anymore when we are visiting is when we go to the store or to a restaurant or movie, and even then I sometimes "forget" to pull anything over my bared buns. I even went to the Ice Cream stand one evening in Okracoke topless and nobody said a word! Even at the McDonalds and the Wal Mart in Nags Head, you see people wearing just their swimsuits, and nobody seems to care.
--Traci, Ohio