Hanlan's Point Beach
A sign indicating the start of the clothing optional status of Hanlan's Point Beach
TypeClothing optional public beach
LocationToronto, Ontario
Coordinates43°36′55″N 79°23′28″W / 43.61528°N 79.39111°W / 43.61528; -79.39111
Created1862, Clothing optional beach recognized March 17, 2002
Operated byToronto Parks
WebsiteHanlan's Point

Hanlan's Point Beach is a public clothing optional beach situated on Hanlan's Point in the Toronto Islands near Toronto, Ontario on the shore of Lake Ontario.

In 2002, a 1 kilometre-long part of the beach[1] was officially recognized by the city in 2002 as being clothing optional. In 2023, the clothing optional section was expanded to the entire beach.[2]

History

A naturist walking into the water at Hanlan's Point Beach.

Hanlan's Point was a popular summer destination in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. It featured a popular amusement park from the 1880s until the late 1920s, the Hanlan's Hotel, built by Edward Hanlan in 1880,[3] and Hanlan's Point Stadium from 1897 until 1937. The hotel burned down in 1909 and was not replaced. The amusement park was unable to compete with the Sunnyside Amusement Park after it opened on the mainland in 1925, and closed in the late 1920s,[4] and the stadium lost its main tenant, the Toronto Maple Leafs baseball team to Maple Leaf Stadium in 1926, and eventually closed in 1937.[5] [6]

Hanlan's Point became a popular meeting location for Toronto's gay community starting in the 1940s and 1950s.[7] Canada’s first Gay Pride celebration was held on the beach in 1971.[8]

Hanlan's Point became a location for nude sunbathing. In 1999, Toronto City Council approved a one-year pilot project for a nude beach at Hanlan's Point following a proposal by naturist organization and Councillor Kyle Rae. In 2000, the council extended the project for another two years. Finally in 2002, the clothing-optional beach was made permanent.[9]

The Toronto City Council decision was met with strong opposition from conservative councillors such as Giorgio Mammoliti.[10] It was also an infrequent target of police crackdowns for nude sunbathing. Its official status has resulted in a distinct increase in ferry traffic, and it appears to be a profitable component of public- and private-sector advertising campaigns, since it draws visitors to Toronto.[1] Police and park officials now work in partnership with the beachgoers to maintain the friendly atmosphere. Some nudists prior to a 2023 expansion of the clothing optional area advocated to make the clothing optional side of Hanlan's Point Beach a nude beach due to what they see as an excessive number of clothed people on the clothing optional side of the beach.[11]

In 2023, a plan was revealed by Toronto City Council for the island that would have seen the erection of a concert and festival venue right next to Hanlan’s possibly eliminating the clothing optional beach. After a public opposition campaign against the plan dubbed "Friends of Hanlan's" the city dropped the idea and proceeded to work with Friends of Hanlan's to improve the beach. On June 15, 2023, City Council passed with unanimous support a motion co-sponsored by Councillor Ausma Malik and Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie titled “MM7.15: Critical Measures to Restore Ecology and Preserve the History of Hanlan’s Point Beach and Surrounding Area.” The motion called for major improvements to the beach such as a brand new cultural marker and signage that will inform visitors about the beach’s prominent place in LGBTQ history and a giant Pride flagpole that will be permanently installed at the south end, rewilding and replanting in huge sections of the beach’s lawn area to combat erosion, proper fencing and pathways to be constructed to keep human traffic under control and allow the diminished natural areas a chance to recover, replacing the massively eroded sand coverage along the 400-meter southern stretch of the beach where Canada’s first Pride gathering took place, and most notably making the entire Hanlan’s Point Beach, not just a section, designated clothing-optional.[12]

Background

Hanlan's Beach can be reached most directly by taking the Hanlan's Point ferry at the foot of Bay Street at Queens Quay. Aside from the cost of the ferry there is no admission fee.

It is the second officially recognized clothing-optional beach in Canada and the only one created by a municipal bylaw.[13] Canada's only other official clothing-optional beach is Wreck Beach in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The effective beach season starts in late May and ends in late September, while actual swimming off the beach is possible only well within this period. In recent years, the beach and islands as a whole have experienced flooding due to high water levels in the early summer.

As is common for most public nudist-friendly venues, males make up a large percentage of the users of the beach, but women can make up to one quarter of the total on popular weekends. Recent years continue to see an increase in the number of families who attend. The beach is a popular destination for the city's gay community.[14] The beach is also the regular site of day trips by several local nudist organizations.

Despite its proximity to Toronto Harbour, the beach can boast extremely good water quality since it faces southwest and away from the mainland. Water quality is monitored daily (on weekdays) during the summer and meets a Blue Flag standard set by the Foundation for Environmental Education.

The section of the beach closest to the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport (YTZ) is also becoming a very popular spot for kiteboarding.

See also

Notes

  1. 1 2 Halstead, Joe (March 7, 2002). "Economic Development and Parks Committee Report" (PDF). Toronto Commissioner of Economic Development, Culture and Tourism. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 14, 2012. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  2. ↑ Writer, Francine Kopun Senior (2023-08-27). "LGBTQ+ community applauds city's expansion of Hanlan's Point clothing-optional beach and recognition as historically queer space". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  3. ↑ "The lost Hanlan's Hotel on the Toronto Islands". 29 December 2015.
  4. ↑ "The lost amusement parks of Toronto".
  5. ↑ "Maple Leaf Stadium Toronto Archives".
  6. ↑ "Historicist: Opening Day at Maple Leaf Stadium". 11 April 2015.
  7. ↑ "Eleven amazing photographs that tell the gay history of Toronto". 21 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "A Brief History of Toronto's First Pride". 28 June 2020.
  9. ↑ "Report No. 3 of the Economic Development and Parks Committee" (PDF). City of Toronto. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  10. ↑ Porter, Catherine (March 30, 2011). "Porter: Thank you, Giorgio Mammoliti, for livening up city hall". Toronto Star. thestar.com. Retrieved 2014-04-12.
  11. ↑ "Hanlan's Point nudists want beach-goers to bare all | The Star". thestar.com. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 2019-11-30.
  12. ↑ Atkins, Curtis. "Nude revival: Toronto's Hanlan's Point Beach will now be bigger than ever". www.planetnude.co. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  13. ↑ Basford, David; Deschenes, Stephane; Rappoport, Paul, eds. (May 30, 2000). The Canadian Guide to Naturism including Clubs, Resorts & Beaches (4 ed.). Federation of Canadian Naturists. p. 109. ISBN 0-9682332-2-8.
  14. ↑ "Discover Gay Toronto's Queer West Village". OuteXpressions. Gay West Community Network Inc. (Queer West). Retrieved March 2, 2012.
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