Review: Ship Island

There are a variety of beaches around the United States at which you can enjoy the sun and surf sans clothes. A lot of them are in Florida or California. Obviously, the warm climate of those states bodes well for the opening of nude beaches. There are also locations in colder climates, but you have limited visiting months. What if I told you there is actually a hidden gem of the naturist world in Mississippi? Can you believe it? To be more precise, the beach is on an island which belongs to The Magnolia State. It is Ship Island in the Gulf of Mexico. The tourist section of the beach requires clothing. But the majority of the shoreline is unofficially clothing optional. Since there is no publicly available island map for naturists, I have created my own. Check it out below.

While the expansive views of the ferry ride and beach are beautiful, a naturist adventure here will take up most of the day. First, you have to book a ticket on the Capt. Pete ferry which is operated by Ship Island Excursions. They’ve been ferrying people back and forth for almost 100 years. Their dock is located at the Gulfport Yacht Harbor in Jones Park in Gulfport, MS. Trips to the island are available from mid-March to October. As of 2022, the cost for a single ticket for the 22 mile round trip is approximately $43. The ferry ride to the island takes around one hour. There is a small selection of drinks and snacks available on the ferry. There are also separate bathrooms for men and women.

The process for buying my ticket, parking at the dock, and getting onto the vessel went smoothly. I thought it was all handled professionally and was a pleasant experience. I showed up around 45 minutes before departure and secured a close parking spot. I waited with others for the dock gate to open. I had been emailed a digital ferry ticket that could be scanned by the boarding agent. But they just asked me what my name was and let me through without seeing the ticket. I assume this works in most cases unless you have a very common name. I would estimate there were around 50 people riding the ferry when I went in September. There were quite a few families. A lot of the ticket holders seemed to be from the general area. There were some tourists with foreign accents. Most of the people seemed to enjoy the boat ride. There were a couple instances of dolphins near the boat. There were also quite a few seagulls which enjoyed flying alongside the ferry. They would glide along the length of the boat, circle out, and fly back in. The ferry seemed to be adequately staffed by people wearing a company shirt. There were also life jackets stored underneath the rows of seats in case of an emergency. We arrived at the island dock after an hour or so. The first building I passed was Fort Massachusetts. I was focused on getting pictures and video of the naturist experience, so I skipped touring the fort. I ended up being the first person to leave the main beachfront. I was also the first to take my all my clothes off.

When I first set out on my walk east, I planned on reaching the end of the island. The idea was to get to the tip, lay down and relax, and walk back to the dock. As it turned out, it takes too long to walk the length of the island and safely get back for the 2:30pm departure time. I arrived on the beach around 10:15am but wanted to get food on my way back. If it had been a couple months before and I chose a 5pm departure, I could have easily walked the length of the island with time to spare. I traversed around 70% of the length of the island. Even though it was in the fall, it was quite hot. It’s a good thing I brought a bottle of sun lotion. If I hadn’t, I would have been toast. This is actually a barrier island and can help protect the inland coastline. In 1969, Hurricane Camille tore through and separated the island into east and west pieces. From 2019 to 2020, the US Army Corps of Engineers executed the Ship Island Restoration Project. They put tons of sand in between the two halves of the island to restore it as one land mass. This was the reason I was able to walk the majority of the island. The thing that surprised me the most about the landscape was how much trash had washed up on shore. I found everything from bottles to shoes to a chair! That was quite disappointing. Otherwise, the views were spectacular. You can see amazing cloud formations in their entirety, lots of shells, plant life, birds, and crabs running in and out of the ocean.

As you can see in the above picture, it’s a peaceful place with nobody around. In fact, the only other naturists I encountered were a couple who set up chairs and an umbrella after the visible bend of the island. I would estimate it took them 25 minutes to walk to where they were. I saw them on my way back. We waved to each other. If I had more time, I would have stopped by and talked with them. I was eager to get back and get something to eat and drink before departure. I had worn hiking boots with arch support. The sand was quite hot and I walked for hours. I applied my sun lotion twice. I also had three bottles of water. I ended up using all of them during my visit. If you are going here as a family, I would recommend walking around 20 minutes to the left of the main setup of blue chairs and umbrellas and find a spot. You’ll be far enough where you won’t be bothering the textiles. There’s really not any need to walk further than that with kids. Also, you will be fairly close to the snacks and bathrooms. Before I boarded the ferry back to the mainland, I grabbed a grilled chicken wrap and a drink at the snack bar. The price and service were good. If you don’t mind spending most of the day to travel and relax in the sun, this is a great location for naturists. I would definitely recommend at least going here once. I give Ship Island a B+ rating.