Nudists declare war over one of the West Coast's most stunning beauty spots... and they're using a bizarre slur for clothed beachgoers

By LAURA PARNABY, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 21:03, 2 August 2026 | Updated: 21:29, 2 August 2026 The vast sandy beaches of Rooster Rock beside the Columbia River are believed by many to be among the most beautiful nature spots in the Pacific Northwest, attracting more than 700,000 visitors every year.  But the calm, topaz water which laps the three-mile coastline belies a bitter culture war which has been bubbling beneath the surface for years – between longtime nudist visitors, and the recent influx of clothed tourists.  As one of the few picturesque public spaces where nudity is legal, naturalists have been enjoying the beach, located just east of Portland, Oregon, for decades.   However, the beauty spot has gradually drawn more visitors every year, leading to a boom in what the nudists have derogatorily called 'textiles,' or clothed people.  The naked regulars have complained that many of the tourists who don't share their way of life have turned them into a spectacle by staring and taking photographs for social media.  Writing on Reddit, one Rooster Rock regular complained that the spot has devolved from a welcoming naturist haven into what they called 'majority textile creeperville.'   'We need to encourage the textiles to move, on they wrote on Reddit. 'There are hundreds of clothing REQUIRED beaches for textiles to choose from, it's creepy for them to invade our only two safe spaces.' 'I've more often than not just felt like I'm on display at a zoo for the textiles,' they added. Rooster Rock is a picturesque area located just east of Portland, Oregon, as pictured above A cropped image of a nudist on Rooster Rock beach close to Portland, Oregon is shown above  'They take pictures with nudists in the background and then post their 'we're so cool, we're at a nude beach!' to their socials,' the Reddit user alleged. One nudist accused clothed visitors of 'trying to guilt us into getting dressed' by bringing children to the area.  Rooster Rock and nearby Collins Beach are the only designated areas within the sprawling 19-acre Rooster Rock State Park that allow nudity.    While people had been sunbathing nude there for decades, the practice was formally recognized in 1978 after complaints prompted Oregon's State Parks Advisory Committee to consider banning it.  Instead, officials concluded that because state law did not explicitly prohibit nude sunbathing, the park could not either. They opted to establish a clearly marked clothing-optional area instead. Today, signs and park maps clearly distinguish where clothing is optional and where it is required, making it difficult for visitors to wander into the area unintentionally. Despite the obvious boundaries, park officials have acknowledged that tensions do arise.  Clay Courtright, Oregon State Parks manager for the Willamette Valley region, including Rooster Rock, said rangers have dealt with isolated incidents involving visitors who mistakenly viewed the clothing-optional designation as permission for public sex – a practice that remains strictly prohibited. Rooster Rock State Park is shown above. Most of the beaches do not allow for nudity  More recently, rangers have received complaints involving clothed visitors allegedly staring at or photographing nude beachgoers. Courtright told Oregon Live that folks 'have been pretty respectful' overall – but such assurances have done little to calm some of the naturists, who feel their way of life is under threat.  The Reddit poster claimed many women have stopped visiting altogether because they no longer feel comfortable. 'I'm part of a women's group that has around 90 members and all of them have decided that they likely won't be going this year citing that they too are tired of being on display for textiles,' the user wrote.  'Even the 20-somethings in the group have said that they likely won't go. This is sad.' 'Why insist on invading a nudist's safe-space if you have no plans to go nude?' the post added. 'That's creepy.'  One factor contributing to the friction may simply be geography. Although Rooster Rock technically includes a clothing-required beach, there is relatively little sandy shoreline available there for much of the year. Another beach emerges when Columbia River levels drop later in the summer, but decades of changing river flows from Bonneville Dam have steadily eroded the sand. State officials even spent $120,000 in 1985 dredging roughly 100,000 cubic yards of sand to rebuild the beach, only for much of it to disappear again within a few years. Today, much of the former shoreline has reverted to marshland, leaving the clothing-optional beach as the park's primary sandy destination during the busiest summer months. Water levels also dictate when visitors can fully enjoy the beach. Spring releases from Bonneville Dam keep much of the shoreline underwater until around mid-July, with the broadest stretches of sand typically available through mid-September. Rooster Rock welcomed more than 708,000 visitors in 2025, making it the second-busiest state park in the Willamette Valley region after Silver Falls and the 17th busiest in Oregon overall. Its more than 1,400 parking spaces, boat launch, picnic areas, disc golf course and annual Perseid meteor shower viewing events attract crowds throughout the year. The Daily Mail reached out to Rooster Rock State Park for comment.