I say this sucks. Mazo beach is one of America's treasures and an oasis of clothing-optional sanity in an otherwise very uptight upper Midwest area.
This subject is very close to my heart. When I lived in Chicago, I spent countless happy weekends up at Mazo beach (pronounced "Mayzo", after the nearby town of Mazomanie "mayzoMAYnee"). Folks, this is one wonderful nude beach. It's on the beautiful sandy banks of the Wisconsin River, and the views are spectacular. Across the river are beautiful hills, a rarity in the Midwest, between the beach and Sauk City several miles upstream. And everything is green, green, green. It's so fantastic.
The people scene is wonderful. Families, straight couples, gay couples, gay groups of friends, everyone together. Folks sharing from picnic baskets with strangers, people talking to each other. Back when I would visit, the Wisconsin DNR would allow folks to set up tents and sleep overnight on the beach. People would bring guitars, sometimes have a small campfire to sit around, and just hang out. It was sheer bliss.
Was there sex during the day? Hellz yes. Good grief, between the woods and the beach was a huge area of tall grass (3-5 feet high) and marsh. There were loads of trails in the grasses and the woods, and gay men would wander back there all the time. Man, I have some wonderful memories of those times and the guys I met there. Spilled a tremendous amount of spunk. My partner at the time and I met porn star Scott O'Hara on Mazo Beach and we went back in the woods and had amazing sex with him. Scott and I became good friends after that. Now, this activity was taking place probably a quarter mile from the families on the beach, so there is no way anyone there could see or even hear anything "offensive".
Did anyone smoke a joint on the beach or in the woods? Of course. It was a happy, mellow scene anyway, and back when I was a beach regular the DNS officers would come up the beach on horseback, people would stub out their marijuana in the sand, and everyone was happy. The rangers would happily hang out with us and shoot the breeze, completely unfazed that we were all naked. It was very cool.
I've heard that after I left the area the DNS started clamping down. Apparently some very conservative folks in Sauk City could not sleep at night knowing that there were naked people on the beach 5 miles away, so they kept badgering the police in the Badger State to do something about all that sin. Eventually the DNS started a "cleanup": no camping, zero tolerance of pot and cruising the grasses (which were also mowed down to almost nothing) and beefed up patrols of the beach.
Shutting it down weekdays is just stupid. Some people have to work on weekends and now can't enjoy this beautiful beach at all. Also, it could get pretty busy on Saturday and Sunday and sometimes it was nice just to hang out on a slow weekday with only a dozen people within half a mile.
Want an idea of what Mazo Beach looks like?
photo 1
photo 2
photo 3
Bob Morton is the greatest. He's the executive director of NAC, the Naturist Action Committee, and he has done many wonderful things to ensure the legality and vitality of naturism in the United States. A tireless advocate.
Here is further info about Mazo Beach:
Mazo Beach - Nude Wisconsin
And while I lived in the area and even after I moved out to California, I was a member and contributor to
Friends of Mazo Beach, a wonderful organization doing a great service in the face of sometimes hateful opposition. I can't recommend them highly enough.