DATE CHANGE!
Date changed on April 28, 2023 due to the unavailability of shuttle tickets
NEW DATE
August 26, 2023
Saturday
Lake Louise, Alberta
Banff National Park
1 pm - 5 pm
Join us for a fantastic opportunity to connect with nature!
Fully clothing-optional. Wear whatever you wish or nothing at all.
Get in on the best game of naked Frisbee ever played in the history of Canada and on the best playing field in the national park system!
Every participant will be using the park as an individual park user. Please bring everything you need to enjoy your day.
Pack it in, pack it out, leave no trace.
This is the second annual activity at Lake Louise. If you are curious how the first one went, read our 2022 Activity Report.
About Get Naked Banff!
Created to reconnect Canadians with nature and inspired by Naked Hiking Day, GET NAKED BANFF! strives to bring unique and amazing opportunities to Canadians who prefer to enjoy nature the most natural way. What better place than the crown jewel of Canada's national park system?
GET NAKED BANFF! promotes nude recreation by openly hosting clothing-optional recreational activities in amazingly beautiful locations. Skinny dipping is empowering, natural, and practiced by countless Canadians every single year. It's a completely normal form of recreation, its boring to watch, and we don't believe it needs to be hidden away in undesirable swimming holes.
GET NAKED BANFF! was created to facilitate unique experiences for the average Canadian -- the casual skinny dipper. We don't consider skinny dipping to be any more of "a lifestyle" than going to see a movie or
however all our activities are fully clothing optional. We appreciate when clothed people enjoy their day with us because we can demonstrate that all people can co-exist, regardless of how much they are wearing. We empower the individual to make the decision that is best for themselves to wear as much or as little as they wish. Anyone not offended by the human body is welcome to enjoy their day with us.
Please bring everything you need for the day, including water, food, sunblock, towels, etc., and please pack out all your trash. This is a leave no trace activity.
participating in a local bowling league. We promote skinny dipping,
GET NAKED BANFF! welcomes humans of all body types, sizes, sexualities, genders, and anybody unoffended by the human body.
This is the second annual activity at Lake Louise. If you are curious how the first one went, read our 2022 Activity Report.
FAQ
Is this for real?!?
Yes. And we apparently didn't learn the first time.
But is this legal?
That's a very good question, and the answer is complicated and relies on A LOT of case law. The TL:DR version is that we do not host illegal activities.
An interesting tidbit of information: there is absolutely no exception to the law regarding nudity in the public change room at the community pool. It would be preposterous to be arrested in the public change room at the community pool for nudity and we firmly assert that it would be equally preposterous to be arrested in a national park for skinny dipping in nature.
Did you just dodge the last question about legality?
A little bit, but only because the full answer is somewhat complicated and boring. The most factually correct answer is "It depends on if you ask lawyers or the police". We take our guidance from lawyers.
Case law really does define what is legal and what is not, and the court findings are based on circumstances specific to each individual instance. This activity has been crafted to follow case law as closely as possible.
The law unfortunately allows the police in the field to interpret and enforce the law how they see fit. Those interpretations are often clouded by personal biases. The police are often not knowledgable on case law.
The courts are the only ones that can definitively answer this question, and we currently do not believe an activity such as this would ever end up in court.
A policy document from the Nova Scotia Public Prosecution Service regarding public nudity states "Generally, citizens ought not to face the serious sanction of a criminal conviction unless the alleged conduct amounts to aggressive exhibitionism."
We believe Alberta would have a similar position to Nova Scotia, and our activity is not an exhibitionist activity.
What if someone is offended by nudity?
One thing we should all be able to agree on is that one of the best parts of our legal system is that being offended is not what determines what is legal.
Park regulations guarantee everyone's right to peaceful enjoyment of the park. We assert that we also have a right to peaceful enjoyment of the park, and any person confronting us would be violating that park regulation. It is our experience that this is the correct interpretation.
Regardless of our interpretation and past experiences, if getting dressed deescalates a potentially volatile situation, then that is what we will do. We will continue to enjoy our day because Banff truly is an amazing place to visit.
What if I'm not comfortable getting naked with clothed people around?
Wear as much as you wish. You are still welcome to join us and hang out with us. You are welcome to enjoy being part of this amazing experience in any way you choose. We don't shun people for having slightly different comfort levels than us.
For reference, in 2022 we were 150 meters off the closest trail. While we were visible, no random people came anywhere near our group.
What if the police show up and ask us to get dressed (again)?
We believe if everyone follows instructions from the police to get dressed the matter will be considered to be "resolved", just like at our 2022 activity.
Our new FAQ 2.0 section covers our current plan and how we are advocating for policy changes with park authorities. We are well prepared should the police deem this activity to be illegal (again).
Our plan does not include people we do not know getting arrested for us. Please get dressed if asked.
DIRECTIONS
Overflow Parking: Please plan on using the overflow parking lot and taking the shuttle to Lake Louise. The parking lot at Lake Louise fills up quite early in the day, long before it'll be warm enough for us. This year, the overflow parking is at the Lake Louise ski resort. You must pick up your shuttle tickets from the ski resort before boarding the shuttle.
Book Your Shuttle Ride: Please plan ahead and book your shuttle ride in advance.
Instructions to purchase shuttle tickets: The Parks Canada website is not instinctive.
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Click the link in the black box above. It will take you to a "frontcountry camping" reservation screen.
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Click on the "Day Use" tab
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Select August 26th, your party size
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Select "Banff - Lake Louise" from the drop down box
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Click "search"
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On the left there are 2 boxes. One says "map" the other says "list". Click on "list"
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Click on "shuttle"
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Select "11 am to 3 pm"
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We suggest selecting 11am-12pm departure. Click the checkmark for August 26th
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On the bottom right, select "reserve" in the green box
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Scroll to the bottom and select "all reservation details are correct"
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Click "confirm reservation details"
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Click "proceed to checkout"
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Check all of the boxes
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Click "I consent" to the cookies statement
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Select "continue with GCKey/Interact"
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We suggest signing in with your bank
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You'll need to create an account
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You'll get a confirmation email. Click the link in that email.
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When you get into your account page for Parks Canada, click on "cart" on the top right
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Complete your checkout
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Be sure to email information@pc.gc.ca to let them know how much you appreciate their streamlined reservation system for shuttle tickets.
Get Naked at Lake Louise: Take the foot path along the north side of the lake to the silt flat at the back side of Lake Louise. Be sure to stay next to the lake and not take any uphill trails. The hike is about 2 km each way from the Fairmont with very little elevation change.
