Ship Island, part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, is located 12 miles off the coast of Mississippi. Actually, there are two islands—West Ship Island and East Ship Island—but the east/west distinction has only been around a relatively short time. In 1969, Hurricane Camille literally cut the island in two, so now there is a channel between them. Together, the east and west islands span about 7 miles between their eastern and western extremes. However, distance from north to south is typically half a mile or less.

West Ship Island is accessible by passenger ferry from Gulfport, where a boardwalk leads to the main beach on the south shore of the island. From the main beach, you'll need to head east at least a mile (or maybe more, depending on the number of textiles) before taking everything off. There won't be a big crowd of nudists to greet you. Nude bathers have plenty of room to spread out, and the limited capacity and schedule of the ferry service ensures that crowds will never be too large, especially on remote parts of the beach. You may find only a handful of nude sunbathers on summer weekdays, with higher numbers of nudists on weekends. Rangers tend not to bother nudists in this area, but, if you see a ranger, it is still a good idea to suit up until he or she is gone. Furthermore, you should absolutely be discreet if you see textiles approaching. Remember, Mississippi is an extremely conservative state, and you do not want to cause a complaint, especially since you'll probably have to share a ferry ride back with the prudes who balked.

Ship Island is a day-trip destination only. Overnight camping is not allowed. Restrooms and a snack bar are available on the ferry, which remains docked for the duration of the day trip. The land-based restrooms and snack bar were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and have yet to be rebuilt.

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GPS: 30.2102, -88.9519

city, county, state, country  (remote), Harrison, Mississippi, U.S.A.

classification  3 (discretion recommended)

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