Oklahoma clothing-optional resort hosts nudists’ national convention

DEPEW — Oaklake Trails is 400 acres of nature for, well, naturists.

And opening a sevenday run on Sunday, Oaklake Trails Naturist Park, one of the largest (by land area) clothing-optional resorts in the country, will play host to the 86th annual convention of the American Association for Nude Recreation. Welcome to Oklahoma. “We’re looking forward to showing off what we have here,” said Gary Spangler, president and one of the founders of Oaklake Trails.

Oaklake Trails is located in Creek County about three miles west of Depew. It is just north of the Turner Turnpike.

Upwards of 250 naturists from around the country and Canada will gather for the weeklong event that has a long list of activities planned.

The “Nudestock” party, one of Oaklake’s favorite annual parties, will be held Saturday. It is one of many annual events at the park such as the “Nude Year’s Eve Party.”

“We’ve got activities going on all the time through the year,” said Diana McCalment, who has lived at Oaklake Trails for 21 years.

“The only difference between winter and summer is that folks wear clothes in the winter,” said Ray McCalment, Diana’s husband. “It can get a little chilly around here.”

Oaklake Trails is a fullservice outdoor adventure park. There are several hot tubs, two lakes, shuffleboard, horseshoes, 14 miles of trails and two pools — one used exclusively for volleyball.

It is also has nine cabins, 30 RV spaces and a large, tree-shaded campground. All of it clothing optional.

It has gone from a rustic camp with no electricity, just 25 years ago, to a small community of like-minded enthusiasts enjoying multiple amenities. Now, with about 50 permanent residents, “60 to 70 people are out at the park at any given time,” said Spangler, who is from Choctaw.

There are about 255 members, some from as far away as California and Wisconsin, at Oaklake Trails.

Another member, Ray, is a Tulsan who didn’t want his last name used. He’s the chairman for the upcoming national convention.

He said they expect about 250 people for the American Association for Nude Recreation convention that will include organization business, legislation dealing with clothing-optional resorts and information on a number of resorts around the country.

“The place will be packed,” said Diana McCalment. “Every cabin, every RV space is taken. People will be staying at motels and driving in here for activities all week.”

This will be the second time the national convention has come to Oaklake Trails. It was also here in 2009 and drew 250 people from 42 states and three Canadian provinces.

This year’s convention is expected to have attendees from across the nation, Canada, U.S. Virgin Islands and Germany.

“It is actually a good boost for the local economy,” Ray said. “These people have to buy groceries and other goods at area stores.

“When we’ve had these events in the past, we’re always being told how good it was for business in these towns around here.”

Oaklake Trails has also hosted several Southwest Region conventions. Some of those have drawn upwards of 450 to 500 people.

There are about 300 nudist clubs (clothing optional, if you prefer) in the country, but Oaklake Trails is among the largest and most developed.

It started with a small group from the former Sun Meadow Naturist Club near Catoosa. Sun Meadow was a 13-acre clothingoptional resort that opened in the early 1980s and had more than 200 members by the mid-1990s. It has since closed.

Spangler was a member at Sun Meadow and part of a group looking for a larger parcel of land.

“We found this place down here about halfway between Stroud and Bristow, and it has been great for us,” said Spangler. “When we first bought it, there was nothing out here. Now, we have a lot of really great facilities.”

Besides the business meetings and legislative lectures at the convention, there will be plenty of entertainment, too.

An Elvis impersonator and a country band are scheduled to perform several nights during the convention.

“I’m not sure if the Elvis will be clothed or not,” Diana McCalment said. “I’m looking forward to finding out.”

Oaklake Trails has been looking forward to the national convention.

“The last time we had this national convention, it was a big success,” Spangler said. “So when it came open, we bid on it and got it again.

“We like to celebrate our heritage here in Oklahoma. We’ll have some Civil War re-enactors and some presentations about our Indian heritage. We’ll have a lot going on.”

Plus, it helps to publicize one of the nation’s largest and “what we think is the best” places for a clothingoptional resort, he said.

“We have beautiful facilities at the park, and we want people to see them,” he said. “We have done a lot of work out here. But it’ll be a fun week, too. We have dances, dinners, all kind of activities.”

Clothing optional — except for the pool volleyball.

“Now, that’s nude,” Spangler said.