Hanlan’s Point Beach Clothing‑Optional Zone

Peter A. Simm originated the idea of creating the official clothing-optional zone at Hanlan’s Point Beach on Toronto Island. Later, as pro bono  counsel to a not-for-profit club which embraced his brainchild, he led the successful campaign to convince Toronto City Council (and its relevant committees) to create the zone (1999), extend it (2000), and make it permanent (2002).

Simm initiated, researched and wrote a detailed brief to Toronto City Council successfully advocating the zone’s creation. He unearthed a remarkable fact absent from any published history: from 1894 to 1930, Toronto had three official clothing-optional beaches. His brief — “Enhance Toronto Tourism & Recreation: Restore Clothing-Optional Status to Hanlan’s Point Beach” — was substantiated by 188 endnotes. (See here for details about the zone's creation.)

The zone’s clothing-optional designation received substantial media attention, including international media such as The Times  of London. (Enlargeable images of 86 sample media reports are shown below.)

The clothing-optional zone at Hanlan’s Point Beach has become a popular recreational feature enjoyed both by Toronto residents and by tourists. The zone is mentioned as a Toronto attraction in 27 mainstream tourist guides, including official City publications and most travel guidebooks. It is also mentioned as an attraction in 15 non-tourist books and numerous newspaper articles, and was the subject of a clue on the popular TV quiz show, Jeopardy! (Apr. 7, 2015).