Harriman State Park
So, I was looking for places near the NJ/NY border where it would be "OK" to hike / be outside / swim naked that didn't require a membership or paying for day passes (paying to be yourself in open nature is a bummer), and I saw some mentions of folks going to Harriman to hike the trails and enjoy the lakes.
Most of the posts were fairly old, and I understand the laws, but I picked a weekday about 3 weeks ago, and went for it. I left my car at Lake Sebago around noon, and took the trail over to Lake Wanoksink and down and around Pine Meadow Lake.
It was amazing!
I didn't start taking clothes of until around where the trail turns south toward Wanoksink. I was mostly nude between there and Pine Meadow Lake, shorts rolled down, ready to recover if I heard someone nearby. In the ~2hr I spent walking, I only passed 2 pairs of hikers.
When I got to Pine Meadow Lake, there were only 2 couples there. Once I got beyond them, I was naked walking the trail on the south side of the lake, no one in sight. I was able to climb up to a rock that overlooked the lake and was able to chill out there with a good book and no clothes for a long while. Didn't see a soul.
Very similar making the long walk back around 5p. Felt more confident, so I was naked most of the walk back. Only encountered 2 people, and by then I was too close to the road to be naked.
I've only been naked outside on beaches before, so this was a new experience, and I couldn't have enjoyed it more. I was hoping to pass other nude / semi-nude people to signal that it cool, even if not technically legal, but it was so quiet that day that I was never too nervous.
Did I get lucky with the park being so quiet that day, or is that common on a weekday?
How common is it to see nudists there?
Are there similar places in the area to go safely?
P.S. - I'm aware of the group hike at the solstice