Lac Simon is a large lake—about 10 kilometers north to south—in southern Québec between Montréal and Ottawa. The north end of the lake near Duhamel is a popular camping and recreation area, and this area has a 1.5-kilometer-long sandy beach that extends eastward to the mouth of the Petite-Nation River. Wading across this shallow river brings you to a stretch of several hundred additional meters of sandy beach. While you are not likely to encounter nudists just after crossing the river mouth, keep going a little farther and nudity becomes more common toward the far east end of the beach.

On weekends when the main beach is more crowded, textiles may stray to the nude beach, but nude and textile users seem to coexist without problems. There may be as many as 40 nudists on peak days, but numbers are usually smaller.

Despite the presence of "no nudity" signs, park officials have historically cooperated with nudists in allowing nude use without hassles. However, Duhamel adopted a formal nudity ban in 2006, so it is now advisable to keep shorts handy in case the beach is patrolled. Be discreet and be aware of who can see you, from land and from the water.

The beach is quite nice—a broad stretch of sand backed by tall evergreen trees. The clear water is shallow and relatively warm for such a northerly region. Beach amenities and services are available at the entrance of the beach. There is an entry fee of about $5 per person. In May and June the beach is often plagued with flies. Attendance goes up beginning in July.

Park website (select "Centre touristique du Lac-Simon" under "List of Resorts")

GPS: 46.0006, -75.0790

city, municipality, region, province, country  Duhamel, Papineau, Outaouais, Québec, Canada

classification  3 (discretion recommended)

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