2025’s Best Cities for Naked Gardening
Spring is in the air, and so are a few bare cheeks. Ahead of World Naked Gardening Day on May 3, LawnStarter dug into the data to uncover 2025’s Best Cities for Naked Gardening. These cities let you weed in the buff without getting tangled up in legal trouble.
To find the best places to let it all hang out among the hedges, we analyzed the 500 biggest U.S. cities using 11 revealing metrics, including nudist populations, public nudity laws, Google search interest, and even the forecast for World Naked Gardening Day.
After all, no one wants to garden au naturel in a downpour.
How did we strip down the data? Check out our full methodology.
Top 5 Cities for Naked Gardening
Ready to bare it all in the garden? Scroll through the slideshow below for a closer look at the top 5 cities where the sun shines, the soil’s rich, and some gardeners go green (and garment-free).
No. 5: Asheville, NC
Overall Score: 56.74Nude Gardener-Friendliness Rank: 6Weather Forecast Rank: 7
Local tips: Get your hands dirty and your clothes off with fellow naturists at Bar S Ranch in Reidsville or head to the coast for some bare-it-all R&R at Whispering Pines Nudist Resort in Ocean Isle Beach.
No. 4: Atlanta, GA
Overall Score: 57.52Nude Gardener-Friendliness Rank: 4Weather Forecast Rank: 8
Local tips: Join fellow naturists at Serendipity Park, a family-friendly resort tucked into the North Georgia mountains. Prefer to stay local? Stroll through the Atlanta Botanical Garden (fully clothed, of course) for some green inspiration before your backyard bare-it-all celebration..
No. 3: Austin, TX
Overall Score: 64.97Nude Gardener-Friendliness Rank: 2Weather Forecast Rank: 264Austin ranks high for legal freedom to garden in the buff, but blustery winds forecasted on May 3 knocked down its weather score.
Local tips: Austinites go to Hippie Hollow for nude sunbathing, but naked botanists could look for the park’s rare plants on WNGD.
No. 2: Seattle, WA
Overall Score: 66.49Nude Gardener-Friendliness Rank: 3Weather Forecast Rank: 50Local tips: World Naked Gardening Day started here in 2005, thanks to a Bellevue College professor with a green thumb and a bold streak. Read Founder Mark Storey’s comments in our Ask the Experts section below. Celebrate the movement’s roots at Tiger Mountain Family Nudist Park or plan for Nudestock this summer.
Bonus: The Fremont Solstice Parade in June is your chance to bike in full floral attire, with body paint encouraged.
No. 1: Miami, FL
Overall Score: 71.04Nude Gardener-Friendliness Rank: 1Weather Forecast Rank: 292Miami tops the list for nude gardening thanks to legal protections and ideal temps, but its weather rank dipped due to expected rain and higher wind speeds on May 3, 2025.
Local tips: Celebrate WNGD with like-minded gardeners at Sunsport Gardens Family Naturist Resort in Loxahatchee. Or visit Haulover Beach and check out the park’s flora. If you’re comfortable baring it all, you might want to book a cruise next year on the Big Nude Boat.
See how your city stacks up in the nude gardening lineup.
The Bare Facts: Study Insights
Miami (No. 1), Seattle (No. 2), and Austin (No. 3) don’t beat around the bush. Public nudity is legal, letting gardeners go full bloom without worry. Topless and thriving? That’s Austin, Atlanta (No. 4), and Asheville, North Carolina (No. 5).
Brrr, Racine, Wisconsin (No. 438), Anchorage, Alaska (No. 479), and Kenosha, Wisconsin (No. 427), are forecasted to have the chilliest Naked Gardening Day, with temperatures hovering around 51 to 53 degrees Fahrenheit. Gardeners here might want to grab a leaf (or two) for warmth.
Des Moines, Iowa (No. 440), will be cloudy with a chance of cover-ups, landing last in the Weather category. The city’s cool temperatures, high forecasted wind (13 mph), and 77% chance of rain on May 3 are not ideal conditions for going bare among the begonias.
Naked gardening isn’t exactly trending in places like Boulder, Colorado (No. 423), Auburn, Alabama (No. 110), and Flagstaff, Arizona (No. 388). They were among dozens of cities with low Google search interest in both naked gardening and public nudity. Not everyone’s itching to ditch their overalls.
Ask the Experts
Public nudity can be a touchy subject. We reached out to a panel of fully clothed experts to offer their tips for safely gardening in the buff.
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Why is nudity still widely taboo in the U.S., especially in public or semi-public spaces, compared to more socially accepting countries like Europe?
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Can nude gardening or pubic nudity play a role in advancing body positivity or wellness?
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What traits do cities that allow public nudity tend to share?
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What are the potential benefits and risks of gardening in the nude — physically, mentally, or socially?
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If someone is trying nude gardening for the first time, what practical or safety tips should they keep in mind?
A Final Word on WNGD
What is World Naked Gardening Day? “It is a joyful annual celebration founded in 2005 by nudist and permaculture advocates Mark Storey and Jacob Gabriel. Held on the first Saturday of May, WNGD invites people everywhere to experience nature on a deeper level — by gardening clothes-free. It’s not about shock value, but about body positivity, environmental connection, and embracing simplicity,” says a representative of ClothesFree.com.
Why garden naked? Naturist Education’s WNGD page notes: “Gardening naked is not only a simple joy, it reminds us – even if only for those few sun-kissed minutes – that we can be honest with who we are as humans and as part of this planet.”
ClothesFree.com notes, “ Held on the first Saturday of May, WNGD invites people everywhere to experience nature on a deeper level—by gardening clothes-free. It’s not about shock value, but about body positivity, environmental connection, and embracing simplicity.”
Here are some things to know:
The date of WNGD, the first Saturday of May, has not been embraced by all. Why? It’s too cold across much of the northern part of the country to be naked outside. In some cities, you could still turn blue from the cold.
In fact, World Naked Gardening Day is observed on different dates around the world based on the local or regional climate.
But how to observe WNGD safely? Here are a few tips:
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Start small and lean into it. Missouri State University’s Alicia Walker, Ph.D., from our Ask the Experts segment, notes: “If you’re nervous, start small, like watering or weeding, so you can ease into it. Give yourself permission to feel a little awkward at first. We’re so accustomed to covering ourselves that feeling awkward is normal.”
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Wear sunscreen everywhere. Pale parts of your body will easily burn. New York University’s Tessa West notes in her expert comments above that this applies to naked gardeners of all skin tones and races.
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Don’t use any chemicals (like weed killer) that might come in contact with your body. “If you need gloves to handle your gardening chemicals, it might not be a good time to go nude,” West notes.
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Don’t sit naked on the ground. You’re tired of gardening, but don’t rest on the dirt or grass. Ants and fire ants are easily confused, and fire ants have a vicious bite.
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Watch out for itchy, prickly plants. Be careful about what plants you are around or planting – poison ivy, cactus, pampas grass, etc. Plant-caused rashes, pricks, and cuts can be hard to reach and treat on some parts of the body.
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Don’t hurt yourself. Do dig some holes for seeds or plants. Do not use a hedge clipper, string trimmer, or rototiller naked.
This article originally appeared on lawnstarter.com and was syndicated by MediaFeed.org.
