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Posted - 03/10/2009 : 01:01:24 AM
From The Barnstable Patriot - July 24, 2008
Learn the naked truth about nudist camp in the Mills
Written by Joe Gouveia
 Sandy Terraces held an open house July 26 2008
“Can’t thank you all enough for the wonderful relaxing weekend on July 11-14. The serenity and wonderful social atmosphere of STA dropped my blood pressure by 30 points. Thanks for the warm welcome.”
Bill H., Duxbury
Sandy Terraces Associates (STA) is a nudist camp nestled in the woods and on the lap of Long Pond in Marstons Mills. Not many people know of Sandy Terraces, but if anything exists on Cape Cod that people don’t know about, it’s typically in Marstons Mills: Cape Cod Airport, that new roundabout, and Sandy Terraces.
"It was hush-hush for years," said operations manager Dan Liddle, "but it's not like that now." "Old school" nudists kept the camp a secret for most of its 54 years, but Liddle said his generation of sun-seekers is exposing that secret to help keep the camp going.
On Saturday (July 26 2008), Sandy Terraces held an open house from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at its 570 Wakeby Road location. Liddle says the camp has a family atmosphere, and that those who have thought of nudist camps but not dared the experience yet will find an open house the safest way to go. Others not yet naked in lifestyle will be there, so none need feel nervous or alone. The serenity of the camp is eloquent and welcoming.
Some years back, Liddle says during a walking tour of the camp this week, the first tall fence was built to separate the grounds from houses that had been built over the years. The nudists were always like "the guy on the other side of the fence" you see on Tim "the tool man" Taylor’s show. But one year someone's house caught on fire, and camp residents caught the fire and put it out. "They liked us better after that," Liddle said with a smile.
In a more serious vein, Liddle is eager to dispel preconceived misperceptions about the nudist lifestyle.
"Everyone hears 'nudist colony' and they automatically think sex orgies,” he said. “It's not like that. We're people just like everyone else."
Just because Liddle is a nudist doesn't mean he is naked all the time, "it depends on the weather,” he said. “I come from Florida. When it drops down in the 40s, I put my clothes on."
Liddle and his wife, Judy, hail from Port St. Lucie and have been visiting the Cape nudist camp they consider a new Eden for 21 years.
"It's kind of like Paradise here, so why keep it a secret?" he asked.
Beyond the camp's aesthetic beauty is the idealistic philosophy the naked folk live by, a code of communal living based on the family atmosphere and handing down a "stamp" to next-generation nudists.
it's not everywhere, Liddle says, that a group of people live by volunteering to better physical conditions around them for the next generation. And their legacy is more than buildings and grounds; the place itself tells a story.
The camp was founded 54 years ago by Charles Hamblin, a nudist, and his wife, Mary, who was not. They lived across the lake. Every day Hamblin would row his boat over to start his day's work of building the grounds. The main house is still standing and the concrete steps from 54 years ago haven't a crack in them.
When Hamblin died in 1986, he left the camp in a trust. There are four trustees, no ownership, no profit involved and the property can't be sold as long as it is a nudist camp. Once it ceases to be a nudist camp, the land goes back to family heirs.
When Hamblin's grandson visited the grounds a few years back, he took members on a tour, telling stories of mixing concrete for his grandfather in the building of the walkways and stairs. He told of the main house going up. Liddle points to the original office, a hinged podium at the main entrance where guests checked in and paperwork was kept.
What started out as a main house, a few cabins and some campers is now more of the same, complete with a pavilion where food and entertainment events are hosted, a beach with pontoon boats, canoes and kayaks, and a sauna a few yards back. Tennis courts and more define the character of Sandy Terraces.
STA is 11 acres of woods on a lake, with five levels, or terraces, where everything from cook-outs to poker "Texas Hold 'em" leagues happen. Other than the trophy, of course, camp card players who are past champions also get their picture put on the club's "pole of fame," the upright in the clubhouse holding up the roof structure, showcasing those nudists with a poker face.
So the camp is based on naked communal living. "It is each generation's job to make it better for the next generation," said Liddle. His generation of nudists built the pavilion and is planning on installing a swimming pool (the new bathhouse is already under construction). Members' talents are contributed to keeping things going: Liddle himself is a woodworker, and does everything from mending fences to whatever woodwork is needed at the camp. Everyone pitches in at the pavilion for cooking detail, entertainment organization, repairing roads, etc.
"In communal living you learn to get along, or if you don't, you just don't fit in," said Liddle.
The camp also rents to the general public. Liddle explains that members of the American Association for Nude Recreation gets membership discounts, as retired nudists taking to the road with their campers travel from camp to camp across America.
The sign at the entrance reads, "Living & Playing 'Naturally' In The Sun." The welcome mat will be out tomorrow.
From Wicked Local Cape Cod - Jul 23, 2008
Sandy Terraces provides sanctuary for nudists
By Paul Babin
Sandwich Broadsider
Posted Jul 23, 2008
SANDWICH —
Nudity is a way of life for the members of Sandy Terraces.
For more than 50 years Cape locals have flocked to the secluded 10-acre camp on Wakeby Road in Marstons Mills to escape from the perils of judgmental people and sweaty clothes.
The camp will host an open house Saturday, July 26 to attract new members. Visitors must be 18 or older to attend. A rain date is set for Aug. 2.
“We try to do an open house to try to get people who haven’t been [to the camp] to come and try it to see if it’s something they would be interested in,” says Sandy Terraces Trustee Allyn Hall.
Hall says he first visited Sandy Terraces 20 years ago “out of curiosity, because I used to skinny dip in the woods in [Western Massachusetts] where I lived.”
He says he decided to join the club because it allowed him to practice the nudist lifestyle and was less expensive than other nudist organizations.
“When you discover that the price is really right and you got a place on the Cape and you can practice the lifestyle, the light bulb goes off,” Hall says.
Sandy Terrace’s daily rates are $30 per person or $35 per couple for people not affiliated with the American Association of Nude Recreation. AANR members receive discounted rates. Membership rates are $277.50 per person and $555 per couple not including the site fee. Hall says members are expected to help run the camp. He says Sandy Terraces can charge low membership fees because it relies on members to run it instead hiring a maintenance crew.
“The important caveat with the membership rates is that Sandy Terraces is a cooperative. It’s not like you come for a free ride,” Hall says.
He says most members are willing to run the camp because “They appreciate the fact that it keeps the price down.”
Member fees pay for all of the camp’s operations.
Sandy Terraces’ first open house last summer attracted nearly 30 people. Hall says he had “a lot of trepidations about how [the open house] would work out,” but says he was pleasantly surprised. He says the open house is meant to “make Sandy Terraces available to people,” not to try to sway them to join.
“We’re not trying to get anybody to do it. It’s just to make the camp available. If you take your time getting redressed after a shower, maybe you want to spend all day Saturday nude.”
The open house is an informal “meet and greet” where visitors can socialize with members over lunch. Visitors will receive a list of the camp’s rules and regulations and information about membership fees when they arrive.
Hall says most visitors aren’t shy about getting nude.
“If you’re an open-minded kind of person, it just happens. There’s little friction and you just take your clothes off.”
He says the camp attracts people from many different walks of life. He says most members started out as “skinny dippers” before they realized they were nudists.
He says being nude allows the camp’s members to appreciate each other for who they really are.
“You let yourself be who you are and you don’t have to put on airs or try to get everybody to like you. The trash collector gets as much respect around here as the doctor.”
Have you visited Sandy Terraces in Cape Cod? Add your comments and trip reports here by clicking Reply To Topic while logged in. |
| 3 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| capecodjack |
Posted - 03/10/2009 : 4:32:31 PM
Sandy Terraces provided my introduction to social nudity and I was glad to forward these articles to Admin. In addition to the open house last summer they ran ads in a few of the local papers inviting interested visitors. |
| Teva |
Posted - 03/10/2009 : 12:20:18 PM
They are even single friendly.
Teva |
| pilot |
Posted - 03/10/2009 : 10:59:02 AM
Fascinating. Truly a best-kept secret. And we have been to the Cape many times. |
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