Canada Has Two Official Nude Beaches & Here's What Makes Them Surprisingly Different

This Essay article is part of a Narcity Media series. The views expressed are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Narcity Media.

Even people in the Great White North need to get their tan on, and sometimes in spots where the sun doesn't normally shine. It turns out though that Canada only has two official nude beaches — one in B.C. and one in Ontario.

There are a few unofficial ones to explore, but if you want to bare it all somewhere that's official, you'll need to hit up Wreck Beach in Vancouver or Hanlan's Point Beach in Toronto.

They might both have tons of naked people, but the vibes are actually very different on each sandy shore.

Narcity’s Western Canada Editor Morgan Leet and I each visited the respective beach in our provinces and realized that not all nude beaches are created equally. We compared notes and figured out the biggest differences between the two.

Since I’m based in Ontario, I made the trip to the Toronto Islands to check out Hanlan's Point Beach, while Morgan ventured to Wreck Beach in Vancouver.

One isn't on the ocean

Katherine: Hanlan's Point Beach is on the shore of Lake Ontario, which has a reputation for being the least clean of the great lakes.

There's this saying I've heard all my life that if you swim in Lake Ontario, you’ll come out with a third arm (which honestly doesn't sound that bad — maybe it would increase productivity?)

However, I found the water to actually be quite nice during my visit, looking really clean and inviting. It makes sense — the beach is actually a Blue Flag Beach for 2022, which means it meets strict water quality and safety criteria.

Morgan: There's nothing like the ocean breeze and salty water on a summer's day. Wreck is on the Pacific Ocean, which made me feel slightly better swimming with a bunch of naked people around me, for some reason. Saltwater is cleaner... right?

One makes it way easier to get drugs

Morgan: If you take a trip to Wreck Beach, be prepared to be offered drugs a minimum of three times. There are actually people walking up and down the shoreline yelling, "Anyone want to buy some shrooms?!"

Keep in mind that these offers are coming in from people in their birthday suits. Family-friendly? I guess it depends on your parenting philosophy.

Katherine: When I heard what Wreck Beach was like, I was expecting to find the same scenario at Hanlan’s Point (basically just a free for all of nudity and illicit behaviour).

I was surprised to find that the atmosphere of the clothing-optional part of the beach was pretty chill. There were some people smoking what looked like marijuana, but otherwise, I would say this could be a family-friendly place.

One has a clothing-mandatory section

Katherine: At Hanlan’s Point, you have the option of visiting a clothing-optional section of the beach or the clothing-mandatory side.

I wouldn’t really say there were any differences between the two, minus the bare-naked butts obviously. But, I think this is great for people who might not feel comfortable seeing a lot of nudity but still want to enjoy the surprisingly nice beach.

Morgan: In more ways than one, Wreck is a free-for-all location. It's a massive beach with private parts as far as the eye can see. This means if you get tired of seeing phalli, you have to make the long trek up a staircase to get off the beach.

One has (slightly) more older men

Katherine: I didn’t expect so many people to actually bare it all on the beach, but even more surprising was the number of butt-naked older men there.

I mean, good for them, but it's just something to keep in mind, especially if you weren’t expecting to see tons of male private parts that day.

Morgan: OK, yes, there were mostly older men naked (what's up with that anyway?) but there were also a decent amount of young people stripping down too.

One is bigger

Morgan: Vancouver is home to Canada's longest nude beach, so take that, Toronto! Wreck is super big, with lots of space to spread out so you don't get too up close and personal.

Katherine: While Hanlan's Point doesn't get to boast being Canada's largest clothing-optional beach, there's still tons of space here to hang out (no pun intended).

Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.