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Clothing is optional and skinny-dipping is required. Even
with the fall nip in the air, au naturel is still the way to
go for the naturists of Oaklake Trails Naturist Park in
Depew.
For 13 years, this 440-acre wooded park has been home to
a few permanent residents as well as many semi-permanent
residents and weekend campers who wish to enjoy nature in
the buff.
"The club's motto is 'Experience the Freedom,'"
said Ray McCalment, permanent resident and park co-administrator
with his wife, Diana. "When I get up in the morning,
oftentimes, I'll walk out on the deck and look at the
morning, watch the sunrise come up. Any time of the day, I
can walk out and feel the breeze and the sun, and you can't
imagine what that feels like. How absolutely, totally
freeing it is."
"My personal attachment to (nudity) doesn't have
much to do with whether you're nude or not," Diana
McCalment
said. "It's been the level of the quality of people
that I've met. I appreciate the level of tolerance. It's
pretty hard to be judgmental when you're nude. People don't
necessarily agree with each other, but they're tolerant of
each other. They'll listen to each other. On the whole, you
see very little condemnation of other people's choices or
feelings."
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Ray McCalment plays with his dog at Oakdale Trails
Naturist Park. PHOTO BY PATTI MARSHALL
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The park, located halfway between Oklahoma City and Tulsa,
offers family oriented recreation with its many miles of
hiking and jogging trails, swimming pool, hot tub, horseshoe
pit, and lighted volleyball, shuffleboard and pitanque
courts. The park is open year-round to club members and on a
seasonal basis to visitors. Sixty lots are leased annually
and 30 campsites with water and electric hook-ups are set
aside for overnight, weekends or month-long visitors. There
is a large clubhouse with showers and kitchen, as well as a
children's playground. The club organizes many year-round
activities, including a 5K run for charity.
"We're very fortunate to have a beautiful
club," Diana said. Not only is it the second-largest
landed naturist club in the United States, but also boasts
the highest point in Creek County. The panoramic view of the
surrounding acreage is breathtaking, she said. Hiking trails
meander through the entire acreage and past eight lakes,
unusual rock formations and a seasonal waterfall.
Oaklake Trails is an affiliate of the American
Association of Nude Recreation (AANR) and The Naturist
Society, which demonstrate the positive aspects of nudism
and work to rid the public of a denigrating view of the nude
form.
"We guard our privacy very carefully," Diana
said. "People do have misconceptions (about nudity)
because our particular western society, the United States,
has put such a negative connotation, such as sexual
connotation, on the nude body. Where in Europe, nudity is an
art form and always has been an art form, but we got that
screwed up somehow. Although, the level of acceptance with
social nudity has escalated significantly in the last 50
years."
Most naturist societies have set policies for members to
follow, including Oaklake Trails, but as in other social
cultures, there are specific considerations of etiquette.
People do not just drop in on nudist organizations; either
an invitation by a member or calling ahead to secure an
invitation is polite. Unexpected strangers may be turned
away. Some nudists prefer anonymity for business or personal
reasons and use their first names. No photographs are
allowed unless permitted by the subject. Most parks welcome
children and wish to maintain a family atmosphere. Affection
among family members is acceptable, but overt sexuality is
not tolerated.
Diana said that nudity is not a license to be
promiscuous. About one-third of the club's members are
single, but have joined for the relaxation and the time away
from their "textile" life -- textile meaning
clothed.
"Typically, nobody wants to stay clothed very long
because you know you're coming to a nudist park. You know
people don't give a damn if you're naked or not," Ray
said. "We do a lot of behind-the-scenes work of
lobbying and letting people know who and what we are, that
we're family-oriented and a legitimate business."
In 2000, The Naturist Education Foundation conducted a
national poll about nudism and found that 19 percent of all
Americans of all ages have participated in nude recreation
while 80 percent believe people have the right to enjoy
nudism in a designated area.
According to the Oaklake Trails Web site, the park is
"a family-oriented nudist facility, dedicated to the
principle that social nudity with your friends and family is
wholesome, relaxing, emotionally and physically healthy, and
just plain fun."
For more information about Oaklake Trails Naturist Park,
call the main office at (918) 324-5999.
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