Every Place Has a Story

Van Tan–North Vancouver’s Nudist Camp

the_title()

Van Tan Nudist CampFrom Vancouver Exposed: Searching for the City’s Hidden History

I’ve lived in Lynn Valley for 20 years and while I’ve heard rumours of a nudist camp at the top of Mountain Highway, I always thought that it was an urban myth. After reading an article this week, I found their website, fired off an email, and accepted an invitation from PR director Daniel Jackson to spend this afternoon at Van Tan.

Daniel and Vanessa met me at the first locked gate, which is just past the new parking lot and a flood of weekend hikers. We drove about two clicks up a curvy, unpaved road shared with a steady stream of determined mountain bikers, then through another locked gate, and onto several acres of private property.

Van Tan Nudist Camp
Eve Lazarus photo, 2016

Just under 60 members belong to the club, which has a board of directors like any other non-profit society. There are a few trailers that look semi-permanent, and Daniel and Vanessa have designed a “timber tent” that’s put together like a movie prop and breaks down into little pieces that are easily stored in winter. It would be like sleeping in a greenhouse.

Van Tan Nudist Camp
Daniel and Vanessa at their “timber tent,” Eve Lazarus photo.

The most interesting thing about the nudist camp is its history. It was founded in 1939 and purchased from a group called the Millionaire’s Club when it was little more than a clear-cut grassy knoll and used for clay pigeon shooting. The club’s buildings—including a sauna inside a log cabin with a hand-split cedar roof—date back to the 1940s and ‘50s as does the fire suppression reservoir which holds 40,000 litres of water and looks strangely like a swimming pool. There’s a shower, a diesel back-up generator, composting toilet and propane heater.

Van Tan
Eve Lazarus photo, 2016

At the bottom of the property is a cliff with a stunning view of Mount Baker, Mount Seymour, Burrard Inlet, and quite possibly my house.

Daniel says they plan to turn the cliff into a climbing area for nudists.

Van Tan Nudist Camp
Eve Lazarus photo

While they could always use a few new members, Daniel says reaching out to the community is more about changing their image. “[The media] still play off there’s something going on up there and it’s not wholesome.”

From the photo album. At Van Tan in the 1950s
From the photo album. At Van Tan in the 1950s

In fact, most of the secrecy surrounds individual privacy. Members don’t talk about what they do, where they live, or their last names. And membership is intentionally cheap—just a few hundred dollars a year. Members are asked to put in 10 hours of work a year, but it’s all pretty casual. You can chop wood for the sauna and hot tub, work in the community garden or on trail maintenance, but it’s not Survivor, if you just want to sit by the ‘fire suppression reservoir’, no one’s going to kick you off the mountain.

Eve Lazarus photo
Eve Lazarus photo

“I always say it’s the secret that keeps itself, once you’ve come and had a look, really nothing out of the ordinary is taking place here,” says Daniel. “Gardening is the number one activity.”

Van Tan Nudist Camp
From the Van Tan Album, 1950s

And, yes, after a few uncomfortable minutes of holding extreme eye contact, the whole nudity thing becomes a very small deal. It’s a bit like hanging out with a very pleasant naked gardening group.

Check it out for yourself at Van Tan’s open house June 19.

Van Tan Nudist Camp
Eve Lazarus photo, 2016

© All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, all blog content copyright Eve Lazarus.