California -- To Peel Off Stress, Get Naked In Palm Springs

It's not surprising that Palm Springs, Calif., is a mecca for sun worshipers, but over the last 10 years, many of these heat-seekers have started frequenting the valley for a different reason: To shed their stress, along with their clothes, and find serenity in the buff.

With sunshine year-round, nudist resorts are as common in the Coachella Valley as ski resorts in the Alps. There are more than 15 such places scattered across the Coachella Valley around Palm Springs.

"The general idea of people coming to Palm Springs to sunbathe in the nude has been a long-standing tradition," says Gary Sherwin, vice president of the Palm Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau. "But what is new is the number of hotels we're seeing specialize in this area. . . . We're seeing more efforts to respond to people's search for new experiences."

Nude vacations are increasing around the country and the world. "We're getting out and educating more people about nude recreation and what it's all about. It's very free and relaxing," says Carolyn Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the American Association for Nude Recreation.

Membership in the organization has risen 76 percent over the last 10 years, she says, with nearly 50,000 individual members and 230 clubs and resorts throughout the United States and Canada.

"When you shed your clothes, you shed your stress," says Hawkins. "And it's blue collar and white collar people. But you can't tell if they're blue or white collar if they're not wearing a collar.

"We say dress only when necessary. Clothes when practical, nude when possible."

Tom Mulhall and his wife, Mary Clare moved to Palm Springs from Chicago in 1994 with a dream: to open up a nudist resort.

Now, they're living that dream.

The Mulhalls own The Terra Cotta Inn in a quiet little Palm Springs neighborhood just blocks from downtown.

"It's a 100 percent relaxation type of place. That's what we specialize in," says Tom. "It's the kind of place where everyone knows each other's names." And 75 percent of their customers are repeats for that reason, he says.

The Mulhall's dog, Godiva, is a fixture at the facility and doesn't take kindly to the clothed masses. She barks at a young woman walking by the pool area wearing shorts and a tank top, an unusual site at the inn.

Manfred Eschner and his wife Donna of Huntington Beach, Calif., have been into nudism for more than 20 years.

"It's just very relaxing and you meet a lot of very nice people," says Manfred. There's nothing to hide behind but your personality: "You can't be too pretentious when you don't have any clothes on."

It's like meeting people in an Internet chat room; stripped of stereotypes, the only thing remaining is your ability to converse with strangers. "But whereas in Internet chat rooms you're anonymous, here it's very personal," says Mulhall.

The Terra Cotta, a small 17-room hideaway, caters to community, gathering guests in one common area around the pool. There's no restaurant "because we find people don't want to eat at the same overpriced hotel restaurant every night," says Mulhall. And there are no organized activities. Guests enjoy exactly what they've come for - total relaxation in a quiet, serene atmosphere.

Desert Shadows Inn Resort and Villas is a different kind of nudist destination, one that has the feel of a full-scale resort located somewhere in the tropical islands. Activities include nude volleyball, tennis and even moonlit hikes in the desert.

In the lobby, guests are greeted by a large framed color print of owners Ray and Susan Lovato and Stephen and Linda Payne (all four, in the buff).

If guests still aren't sure they're at a nudist resort, a sign on a counter quickly reminds them: "We are a nudist resort. There are no swimming suits permitted in pool or spa areas at any time for any reason."