Vacations provide us with unique opportunities to explore our interests, without worrying about our jobs or other obligations.
Those of us who are gay or bisexual nudists often frequent specifically gay events, campgrounds, or resorts where we can meet new people and enjoy new experiences in a textile-free, male-only environment. During the last few decades, several groups were established to meet this need. The first (1992) and largest of them all, Gay Naturists International (GNI) (gaynaturists.org), holds its next annual Gathering August 21-30 in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Other groups include International Men Enjoying Naturism (IMEN) (imen4allmen.org); the California-based Community of Men Enjoying Naturism (CMEN) (cmen.org); and the Kansas-based Midwest Male Naturist Gathering (MMNG) (nmng.org). CMEN will hold its Southern California Gathering in the San Bernardino Mountains August 14-23 while IMEN and MMNG are already planning their 2027 events. Gay and bisexual male nudists also gather at LGBT resorts for annual or semi-annual events, like Key West’s Bone Island. They also congregate for year-round fun in places like Palm Springs and Wilton Manors.
Though I have never been to Kansas, in previous years I attended events sponsored by GNI, CMEN and IMEN. This year, Ron and I took part in IMEN’s 31st Annual Gathering, held July 10-19 in Camp Ramblewood in Darlington, Maryland. Like GNI’s camp in the Poconos, Ramblewood is centrally located and accessible for those of us who live on the eastern seaboard. Its lovely rustic setting and great amenities attract local or international groups of which IMEN is only one. This year’s IMEN event attracted more than four hundred men for all or part of the ten-day Gathering, not as many as the eight hundred or so who frequent GNI but as many as those who take part in CMEN events. Ron, whose experiences in the international gay nudist scene predates my own, knew many of the men at the Gathering, though I was no slouch in that department. In any case, Ron and I both made many new friends during our ten days with IMEN.
As in previous years, this year’s IMEN experience benefits from Ramblewood’s hard-working staff and IMEN’s equally hard-working Board of Directors. Those of us who were there just to have a good time owe much to their labors. There was so much going on that I could not take part in or describe all of them. Among my favorite IMEN activities were the foam party, the water slide, the wine tasting, the talent show (as a spectator) and the daily cuddle circle. Though I brought my teddy bear with me, I enjoyed this close proximity to other like-minded men.
There are those who ask why I would go to a gathering like IMEN’s when there is so much gay and naked activity going on at home. I do so for the experience, for the activities that local groups cannot provide, and for the gay and bi nudist men, from all over the world, that I meet at the IMEN, CMEN and GNI events. Many great friendships, and quite a few relationships, began at a nudist gathering. Though the 2026 season is close to the end, the 2027 season will soon arrive, and I urge those of you who can afford it to make plans for what promises to be another great year in the history of gay nudist recreation.
