We’ve compiled the most frequently asked questions about membership, the Member Directory, local clubs, and The Gathering. Search, filter, or jump to a topic.
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Membership dues help defer the cost of administrative expenses that GNI incurs in order to provide you with our monthly publication — GNI BuffBuzz — and our interactive online community through our Member Directory. Membership dues are due annually by the last day of the anniversary month you join GNI, unless you’ve paid for one of the multiple-year options or have become a Lifetime member. (Lifetime memberships are no longer available).
By being a member, you are the first to be invited to our annual Gathering, NakedFest event, or other events that GNI may be planning. To see a list of member benefits, visit our Membership page.
GNI does not usually sponsor “official” events in any local/regional area, but we may change that in the future. We’ll post information on our website if any other activities are scheduled.
An annual membership is $50, and there are multiple-year options which give you an incremental price reduction. Current rates are on our membership costs page. GNI reserves the right to change these rates at any time without advance notice.
All kinds of guys join GNI! There are no real restrictions other than you must be male or self identify as male and over the age of 21. If you meet that criteria and want to have fun with thousands of naked guys, join us!
The Business Office will email you when your membership application has been processed and approved. Check your spam or junk mail file if you don’t find an email from us in your inbox.
Why, yes! Isn’t that the purpose of joining a nudist group? GNI is a naturist organization; we are not “clothing-optional.” However, during our annual Gathering there may be inclement weather in which we allow members to wear clothes. Also, as you may see in some of our online photographs, members are sometimes dressed in costume. The pictures are from our theme parties at our events and should not be considered representative of what everyone wears when clothes are worn.
No, females are not allowed to become members of GNI or to join us at any event we may sponsor. Our membership is limited to males only; thus, FtM trans are welcome.
No, GNI does not have discounted rates for couples, but does offer discounts for multi-year memberships.
Yes. Only GNI members may attend our annual Gathering. The Business Office suggests that you join GNI well in advance to ensure that you receive The Gathering information timely. GNI members in good standing receive first notice for, and an invitation to, our events. Also be sure to set your spam filters accordingly in your email, otherwise email from GNI will end up in your spam or junk mail files.
Yes, we do. We have tried to make the sign-up and payment process as simple as possible for both of our domestic and international members. GNI will accept personal checks, money orders, and traveler’s checks (payable in US funds) as long as they are drawn on a US bank and mailed to our location in Pennsylvania. For added convenience, we also take Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover (for both membership and event registrations) and PayPal (for renewing membership dues, only). If you would like to pay your membership dues with PayPal, you must be an existing member. Simply sign into your PayPal account and “Send Money” in the amount of the total dues to gni@gaynaturists.org. We’ll be notified that you sent money and we’ll advance your membership to bring you current. If there are any changes to your membership information (such as new address, email, phone number, etc.) you can drop us an email and we’ll update your profile with your changes.
About 60% of our members are single and the other 40% are couples. Many single men have attended our Gathering events only to find their partner during the week. If you are single and are looking for a partner who shares a naturist lifestyle, you may want to join us at our events, too! We also have many naturist couples who attend our event year after year and continue to meet other men for fun!
With our membership of approximately 1,100 active members at any one given time, the average age of our members is approximately 56 years old. Thus, about half of our membership is younger (but no younger than 21) and the other half is older. We have guys of all ages so the chances that you will find an age range that most appeals to you is excellent!
Members are rarely mailed anything through the USPS unless specifically asked and paid for through our a la carte mailing option. If you are concerned of receiving mail at your home, we suggest that you obtain a post office box or private mail box to ensure your privacy. The only information that you will see on the correspondence we send to you is our return mailing address. Even the letters “GNI” do not exist on our postal mailings. Please be assured that GNI respects everyone’s privacy and discretion and in no way would want to compromise our member’s interest in naturism to anyone.
No. GNI does not distribute, either in whole or in part, the membership list to anyone for any reason. We do have an online social community which lists our members who voluntarily desire to publish this information to other members. Your listing in the Member Directory is purely optional and GNI does not require anyone to be listed at any time. How individuals may use this Member Directory is out of the control of GNI; however, we do encourage our members to keep our Member Directory information confidential. If you are concerned that your personal information is available to the public, you can “hide” your own profile or you can contact the GNI Business Office and ask to be hidden from public view.
On the Membership Application form, there is a field that you can check which states, “Do not list me in the Directory.” By checking this field, no personal information will be available to other members at any time, but you will still receive official correspondence from the Business Office. GNI respects everyone’s privacy and will make every effort to ensure only the information you want (or don’t want) available to the public is done. At times, mistakes do occur as we are only human. If you’ve provided your listing preference and a mistake has been made, please accept our apologies and notify us so we can make an immediate change.
You may upload your own photo to your personal profile. Your profile photo should be a facial shot only, preferably bare chested. It should have good contrast (not too light or dark), and be clear. The size of the picture should be about the size of a passport photo. Profile photos that are not facial shots may be removed by GNI. See the video tutorial for a walkthrough.
The easiest thing to do is to log in to the Member Directory and view your profile. You will see the expiration date of your membership in your profile details.
Chances are if you live in a large city, there is a nudist club near you. But if you do live in an area that does not host a nudist club, think about starting your own club. We’re here to help — see Start a Club.
Check out our Clubs listing of clubs worldwide. If you don’t find a club in a given area, feel free to start your own! We’ll be happy to help you get started.
You may contact the GNI Executive Director at any time for more information about anything regarding GNI or naturism in general. The Business Office is equipped to assist members and non-members with information that may be useful to those who may be traveling, interested in naturism, or who may be in need of legal referrals for nude sunbathing. Start with our Contact page or email gni@gaynaturists.org. Our Executive Director, Rick, will direct you to those who can help you if he is unable to directly assist you.
How-to videos for logging in, payments, directory permissions, email settings, cabin lists, and the photo gallery are collected under Video Tutorials below.
After you log in to your profile, you will be able to find your expiration date on the Welcome landing page. Scroll to the Reminders section where you will see your expiration date.
GNI very much wants to keep in contact with you throughout the year. We send occasional announcements regarding membership renewals, Gathering announcements, NAC (Naturist Action Committee) alerts, GNI Board elections, and other activities. If you are not receiving our messages, it may be because:
While we strongly encourage you not to opt out of our group mailing list, you are free to do so. If you opt out, GNI will not make additional efforts to keep in contact with you by email, phone, or mail. We will not be obligated to offer missed opportunities or extend deadlines for special offers to anyone who has opted out.
When you become a member or register for one of our events, you are given an opportunity to choose your Username and Password. Please keep this information in a safe place. If you can’t access the Member Directory, you can reset your password using the link on the login screen.
If you discover that you’ve submitted incorrect information, simply email the GNI Business Office to let us know what should be corrected. You can also log in and correct most fields yourself. If some fields are un-editable, email the Business Office and we’ll make the changes for you.
The Business Office prefers that you use the automated Reset Password tool. Enter the email address on file with GNI and submit. Within a few minutes you should receive an email allowing you to reset your password. You are also welcome to email gni@gaynaturists.org, but the online tool is faster. If you use an alternate email, the system will not find your profile.
Yes, you can, but it makes communicating with you very difficult. We must use the technology provided in order for us to most effectively communicate with you. If you do not have a computer or an email address that we can use to contact you, you will not receive any contact from GNI.
There are a number of free email services (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook) that we would suggest you investigate. In order to have a membership, we highly encourage you to use a valid email address that will accept mail from the gaynaturists.org domain.
Absolutely, yes! Each member of GNI has his own individual profile in the Member Directory. Each profile is unique to the member’s name, not to the email address that is used. When a couple’s profile is created, both members will be notified of their Username and Password. The information will be sent to the same email address, though. If either of you forget your Password, you will not be able to reset a password if the two of you are sharing an email address. Contact the GNI Business Office if you need assistance with resetting a password.
He won’t. If your partner does not have an email address, GNI will need to rely on you to communicate important announcements to him. We will set his profile up with your email address.
We won’t. If you cancel your email account, GNI will not contact you through electronic means any longer. We will not attempt to contact you through any other means.
No worries. Simply log back in and reprint your card from your personal profile. Your membership card will stay in your profile at all times.
Any time your profile is updated, you can immediately print a new membership card.
Yes! Membership cards are updated in real-time and are available immediately after a profile has been created by the Business Office.
The Board of Directors of GNI are concerned about members’ privacy. With the ability to post a membership directory online, we want to be sure that your personal information is not harvested by others for personal or commercial use. In order to keep your contact information secure, the address and zip / postal codes of our members are not viewable by other members. Furthermore, all phone numbers and birth dates are also hidden from view.
At the time you apply for, or renew, your membership, you are given the option to have your profile listed in the Member Directory or hidden from everyone’s view. If you want to verify your request, log in and conduct a Directory search.
No, please do not delete any of the information in your profile. Most of the fields in your profile are hidden from public view anyway, so if you delete any records, you are removing it from use by the Business Office. Removing basic contact information may jeopardize your membership.
Yes. Maximum file size is 5 MB for profile photos, but we recommend using a smaller file-sized photo to speed up loading times. We accept JPG, GIF, and PNG file types.
Sorry — the software that runs our Member Directory allows for only one profile photo. You can change your photo at any time by uploading a photo yourself. Personal gallery pics (up to twelve) are separate from the profile photo.
Yes — the listing of Clubs is available for all members and the general public to view. You do not have to be a member of GNI to access the club listing. Start with our Clubs page.
You can notify the GNI Business Office of any change and we’ll make the changes for you, or you can log in and edit most fields yourself. Any change to your mailing address needs to be submitted to the Business Office. Members are no longer able to edit or remove their mailing address from the Member Directory.
If you are a current member and have your Username and Password, log in and change your email address through Profile. If you do not have your Username and Password, the online assistance tool will send information to the old address. Email gni@gaynaturists.org and we’ll either make the changes or provide you with access information. If your membership has lapsed, email the Business Office and we will update your profile.
The Business Office exports member contact information from the Member Directory and occasionally creates mailing labels and mail merges. The Post Office requests that we use standardized mailing addresses with USPS approved abbreviations; thus, we may make some edits to your mailing information to ensure it complies with USPS standards. We will standardize telephone number formats for domestic (US) numbers and we will also correct any misspelled words, punctuation, run-on sentences, etc., in your Comments so it’s easier for our members to read.
Contact the GNI Business Office and let us know of your wishes. Upon receipt of an email, letter, postcard, etc., we’ll deactivate your profile and remove you from our active membership roster. Sorry — requests for refunds for prorated membership dues will not be given.
For any additional questions about the Member Directory, please contact the GNI Business Office or email gni@gaynaturists.org.
The fastest and easiest way to contact a club is to call, e-mail, or visit the club’s website. You can write to them if their postal address is published, but snail mail is often slow, and a response from the club may arrive too late for you and your travel plans. GNI does not keep track of the activities of each individual club (except as may be submitted by affiliates for our calendar). With over 200 clubs worldwide, there are thousands of events going on throughout the year. Search GNI’s Club Directory.
GNI makes every effort to keep all of the club listings current. GNI relies on the clubs to notify us of any corrections or changes as they may occur. We cannot be held responsible for incorrect information if we are not properly notified by the clubs.
This depends on the club. Some clubs charge a nominal event fee for an activity in an individual’s home, while others may charge more for an activity held at a restaurant, bowling alley, etc. Typically, event fees range from $3 – $10. Higher fees may be charged for more elaborate events. Check with the club first so that you will arrive with sufficient funds.
There is a certain etiquette that nudist clubs have that a new member or guest may want to know about. First, it is common courtesy to RSVP to the host of the event before the event begins. One does not want to arrive intoxicated, and be sure to bring a towel and use it when you sit on furniture. Check with the host on smoking rules — if there are no publicized smoking rules, it is best to assume it is a non-smoking event and to smoke only outside. Check with the host regarding sexual activity. Since clubs are individually governed, rules about sexual activity may vary from club to club. Finally, be friendly and use common sense.
This is the most asked question we receive. Attending a nude event for the first time may cause anxiety for some men. However, there should be no fear, shame, or embarrassment if a man has an erection. An erection is a physiological response to stimuli, and the feeling of being nude and liberated is often enough to bring about an erection. Don’t worry about it if it happens to you. No one will laugh at you, look at you funny, or think you’re a pervert. In fact, we’ve all had them, and within minutes after you become comfortable with your own body and being around other nude men, the erection will go away and you will be able to enjoy social nude companionship without embarrassment.
Most gay nudist clubs do not have female members. Each club is self-governing and can set its own policy on membership. Experience indicates, however, that nudist clubs for gay and bisexual men work best when there is a “men-only” membership policy. GNI limits its membership to adult males. Check with a local club for any membership restrictions.
This is the second most commonly asked question. Most clubs meet for non-sexual, recreational activities. Other clubs may, however, allow sexual activity from time to time. Clubs are free to set their own policy on sexual behavior. It is important that you check with the individual club first before you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation or are disappointed because you were expecting something other than a potluck or pool party.
The majority of men have a fear of being accepted in a nude setting due to self-esteem or confidence issues. Some may think that they may be too heavy, too thin, too hairy, too old, or simply not “large” enough. However, this is not what naturism is about. Naturism is the acceptance of the nude body in all of its shapes, appearances, forms, and sizes. As gay, bisexual, and gay-friendly men, we come together for social interaction and camaraderie while enjoying the intense freedom from shedding clothes. Ironically, as the clothes come off and men relate to each other, self-esteem strengthens, confidence levels increase, and self-acceptance grows.
Most clubs allow for first-time visitors or guests to attend an event before one is encouraged to join. Some groups request that a prospective member be “sponsored” by an existing member; other groups have an “open-door” policy for guests. Check with the local club for its policy on inviting guests and new members.
Each group charges its own membership rates for singles and couples. Obviously, there are administrative costs that may need to be covered by some type of membership dues, including the production and mailing of newsletters, post office box, etc. Ask the local club for its rates on membership dues.
Clubs try to keep member information confidential. GNI is not aware of any club that sells its list to the public, but that does not prohibit a club from attempting to do so if they so choose. GNI does not sell or distribute, either in whole or in part, its own membership list for any reason to anyone. We encourage individual clubs to follow our example.
Nudist clubs have a variety of activities ranging from potlucks, pool parties, holiday parties, costume parties, dinners (at restaurants), shopping sprees, Country/Western dances, disco dances, camping trips, karaoke nights, game nights, movie nights, and more. Other clubs host hiking trips, hot tub parties, beach days, volleyball tournaments, oil wrestling, massage workshops, photography workshops, etc. Some clubs even host nude roller-skating, bowling, nude sailing trips, and booths at Pride festivals. If something can be done with clothes on, chances are that it can also be done nude. Whatever you may be interested in, you will probably find an activity to your liking. If one is not offered, volunteer and host it yourself!
The largest and most popular gay naturist event is sponsored by GNI. Each year, up to 800 men join together for 10 days of nude recreation, activities, entertainment, and fun. Certainly, the GNI Gathering is not the only male nudist event around. There are other groups that host their own regional gatherings which may be of interest to you. If you’re interested in GNI’s own Gathering, see our Gathering webpage.
While many of the nude events are hosted in members’ private homes, there are some events that must be hosted at a public facility, e.g., roller skating rinks, restaurants, and the like. Before a club announces an event at a public facility, it should check first with the owner of the establishment to find out if there are any local ordinances or insurance liability issues, etc. that may restrict a nude function from being hosted there. GNI has found that when a public establishment is approached to host a nude event, it is important to explain that we are a naturist group, not a sex club. Since the facility should be secured for sole use by the naturist group, some restrictions that would apply if the establishment were open to the general public may be relaxed for a private party. While all of the necessary precautions are taken to ensure a fun and successful naturist evening, there is always a small risk that a homophobic or anti-naturist person may try to cause problems for the club that is hosting an event in a public facility. Those are concerns that a club must take into consideration. GNI certainly hopes that your club does not experience harassment of any kind, and we wish you the best in all of your club endeavors.
For additional questions about nude clubs, contact the GNI Business Office or email gni@gaynaturists.org. For a specific club’s events, policies, or dues, contact that club directly.
Registration, payments, housing, and chartered buses live together here. First-timer questions about the week itself are also on The Gathering FAQ.
Men who are attending The Gathering must pre-register, regardless of the attendance option. We’ve relaxed our rules on “day rates” but want you to know that a “day pass” consists of one 24-hour period and is charged as a flat rate fee. The daily rate is published in the Gathering costs section of the GNI website. Even if you want to come for a few hours, a full day rate is assessed; there is no proration of rates.
You are free to arrive or leave any time during the period for which you are registered. Please be sure you understand GNI’s arrival and check-in policy before you arrive at camp. Discounts or refunds cannot be prorated nor issued for any unused portion of time that has been paid. Unused time is also not transferable to any person.
No. There are no discounts for couples and there will be no additional discounts offered during our registration season. The prices posted will remain in effect, up to and including, the start of The GNI Gathering.
No. Unused portions of time are not transferable to any person. A full week attendance option may not be shared by two individuals. Each must register separately for the period of time he intends to stay. There is no financial benefit to paying for a full week and splitting it between two individuals. Our pricing structure is mostly based on a flat day-rate amount on any given day.
When you register online, you will receive an email from the Business Office letting you know that your registration form has been successfully transmitted to and received in the GNI Business Office; this initial confirmation does not confirm your Gathering attendance, but only that your registration has been received. If you prefer to mail your registration form through the US Postal System, we encourage you to mail your registration materials by Certified Mail to our Pennsylvania location in order to ensure that your forms have been received.
No, but if there is a problem with your registration form or form of payment, you will hear from us with the issue that needs to be corrected before your attendance can be confirmed. Your official notice of receipt will be the issuing of your Confirmation Documents by email.
You can expect to receive your Gathering Confirmation via email within a few days after the Business Office receives your registration form; most are issued within 24 hours. Check your spam or junk mail file for any missing email before contacting the GNI Business Office.
No, your cabin assignment will not be provided to you until you arrive at camp and receive your check-in materials.
No, your Confirmation Documents confirms your entrance into camp, only. It will not confirm with whom you will be housed, even if you’ve requested to be housed with a particular person(s) or group.
Sorry, no. If you took the Cancellation Guarantee at the time you registered, you will not be assessed the cancellation fee. Otherwise, the cancellation fee will be assessed. See Payments & Refunds for the full policy.
Sorry, no. All registrations will be processed with the published rates at the time your registration was submitted.
Yes, only GNI members may attend our annual Gathering. You can become a member at the time you register for The Gathering by including your membership fee with your payment. You may also renew your membership at this time. You do not have to wait until your membership renewal date in order to renew. Memberships can be renewed any time. Join GNI if you are not yet a member.
If you register online, you will not have a need for a printed registration form. However, you will be able to find downloadable forms from this website. We encourage you to photocopy the registration form or forward the Registration Packet to your friends who may want to attend. Otherwise, simply share the URL with your friend.
GNI plans special events and/or activities during the week. If you would like to help defray the cost to GNI of special events, please indicate on this line and include the amount in your payment. All donations are always optional; they are never mandatory.
This fund was created to assist our international members who are attending The Gathering in need of defraying their additional cost for travel & currency exchanges. All donations are always optional; they are never mandatory.
Most group / club cabins have a Cabin Coordinator assigned to it. Your cabin coordinator will be responsible for arranging the housing in your cabin and he will communicate the group list to the Business Office. If you have questions regarding your group housing, please contact your Cabin Coordinator instead of the Business Office. If you want to be in a group cabin and are on your cabin coordinator’s list but do not register for The Gathering before July 15, you may not be placed in the group cabin of your choice. All group cabins are required to have their cabin mates registered for The Gathering by July 15. Registrants who do not register by July 15 may not be housed in their group cabin!
Of course! You may tent if the weather is nice or if you just want to find a private spot away from your cabin. There is no additional cost for tenting and tents may be pitched only in designated areas. See Accommodations for cabin, tent, and RV options.
Everyone who attends The Gathering must register separately and that includes any friends you plan to bring. Unregistered friends who plan to stay in an RV will not be allowed entrance into camp.
You can sign up to host a workshop or activity on the registration form. If you want to host a workshop or activity but you’ve already registered, simply contact the GNI Business Office — or use the Volunteer signup page. The Business Office will contact you to plan the time, day and place for your activity.
The entire cost of The Gathering and bus transportation is payable in full at time of registration. You can pay by credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover), check, or money order in US funds. We are not able to take Venmo, Zelle, or CashApp payments at this time. Sorry, installment payment plans are not available. Each applicant — including couples — must submit a separate registration form using their unique profile and login credentials. Full details are on Payments & Refunds.
Send an email to the GNI Business Office at gni@gaynaturists.org with your request to cancel. You can cancel for any reason up to and including July 31; after August 1, there are no refunds for any reason. Do NOT call the Business Office and verbally request to cancel; you must notify us in writing.
Cancellation requests received on or before July 31, by anybody who has not paid the Cancellation Guarantee at time of registration, will be honored less a $139 cancellation fee. Bus reservations must also be cancelled on or before July 31 and will be subject to a $10.00 cancellation fee (each way). Linen rentals must be cancelled on or before August 10 and are subject to a $7.00 cancellation charge.
After August 1: no refund for any reason even if you purchase the Cancellation Guarantee (we recommend you purchase travel insurance).
What GNI will refund before August 1: Gathering fee, donation(s), linen rental fee, bus transportation fee(s), day extension(s), and off-camp excursions if offered. We do not refund membership fees, the Cancellation Guarantee, credit card processing fees, á la carte mailing fees, or linen cancellation requests after August 13. We cannot transfer fees paid to a future year or to another person. See Payments & Refunds.
If you request and pay the Cancellation Guarantee fee when you register, and are unable to attend The Gathering for any reason, you may cancel your registration until August 1 at no further cost. After August 1, there are no refunds for any reason, even if you purchase the Cancellation Guarantee. Consider purchasing comprehensive travel protection if you have any concerns about needing to cancel anytime.
GNI’s Cancellation Guarantee allows a member to cancel his registration without paying the cancellation fee until August 1. It does not allow you to cancel and request a refund after August 1. If you need to cancel after August 1, you must purchase travel insurance that allows you to cancel at the last minute. GNI has partnered with TripAssure; you may also shop for travel protection with other carriers. You are responsible to insure your travel investment.
Sure, you can ask to be assigned to a different cabin elsewhere but the availability of openings in a particular cabin or area of camp is affected by a lot of variables. You may see the Executive Director to assist you while at camp. Please remember that there are no guarantees for specific housing requests.
You will receive your official housing assignment when you arrive at camp and receive your registration materials. Gathering housing assignments are very complex and changes are made literally up to and including the day members check in. We don’t want to confirm where they may be housed only to inform them when they arrive that they’ve been moved. There are no guarantees for specific housing requests, and informing members where they are placed in advance acts as a guarantee.
Yes, as long as there are no objections from your cabin mates and the cabin allows for beds to be moved. Some cabins have movable shelves that allow beds to be placed together, while other cabins have shelves that are permanently installed and cannot be moved.
These things happen for a variety of reasons. First, your friend may have registered after you or after the cut-off date for specific housing requests. Housing is assigned on a first-come basis. Or he may not have requested to be housed with you, but with someone else. GNI makes an effort to ensure housing requests are fulfilled, but we cannot guarantee specific housing requests to anyone, especially if those requests are made after the cabin housing deadline of July 15.
Housing near the dance club may be due to the date the GNI Business Office received your registration form. Or it may be that you’ve requested to be housed with one or more friends. Since the majority of cabins are “club” cabins, in order to accommodate smaller group requests, a cabin with sufficient space must be found. Oftentimes, it is the cabins nearest the dance club where new or small groups can be placed.
You may speak to any member of the GNI Staff or Board of Directors if you have a particular problem with a cabin mate. You will be able to recognize them by the BLUE name badge they will be wearing.
We will make accommodations available to guys who are tenting if inclement weather prevails throughout the week and we will announce what facility is available for them at The Gathering.
No, there is no discount if you stay in an RV, pitch a tent, or stay at a local hotel and come to camp each day. The posted rates apply to all housing situations and are based on the total number of days of attendance.
Make your way to the Lowest Level of Terminal B, Baggage Claim; meet at the Dunkin Donuts. More pickup details are on Chartered Buses.
GNI recommends that you take a cab or subway to Grand Central Station. The bus will meet everyone in New York City — downtown Manhattan near Grand Central Station — near the Hyatt Hotel, west side pickup on Lexington between 42nd & 43rd Streets. This location is within walking distance of Grand Central Station. A map will be sent to you in your confirmation email.
Please submit your cancellation request in writing to the GNI Business Office. Verbal cancellation requests cannot be processed. There is a cancellation fee (per trip) for cancelled bus reservations prior to August 1. No refunds are issued after August 1. See Payments & Refunds for the current fee.
If you’ve paid for bus transportation by credit card, you will receive your refund within 10 business days. If you’ve paid by check or money order, your refund will be processed within 30 days of your request.
Please call your Bus Greeter. We will make every attempt to ensure the bus will not depart until everyone is present and accounted for, but we cannot guarantee that we will hold a bus if a flight is cancelled or delayed for a few hours. If you miss the bus, we cannot accommodate individuals who cannot make their scheduled bus, and it will be up to you to get yourself to camp or to take public transportation to Stroudsburg. See Location & Transportation for other ways to get to camp.
The bus ride from Newark Airport is approximately 2 hours, depending upon traffic, road construction, and weather conditions. You may add an additional 30 – 45 minutes for the bus ride to / from Manhattan in New York City. Please allow additional time to be processed through the security checkpoints at the airports.
A one-way trip on the bus costs $70 per person. Round trip is $140 per person. Confirm current rates when you register and on Chartered Buses.
You can register and pay for our chartered buses on the Gathering registration form.
Yes. GNI will make every effort to reserve a seat for you, but cannot guarantee that a seat will be available if the registration is received late in the season. Payment for late bus registrations after July 15 will be taken by credit card or money orders only. Contact the GNI Business Office with your request.
Unfortunately, no. Clothing must be worn on the bus to and from camp.
Typically the bus will arrive approximately 10 – 15 minutes early. If you arrive before the bus does, please be patient and do not panic. The bus will arrive and a Bus Greeter will be there to assist you.
The bus will wait as necessary, but typically not more than 5 – 10 minutes if you’re confirmed for a particular bus. This is why it is necessary to make sure that you either cancel or confirm your bus reservation. If there are numerous flight delays caused by weather, strikes, or matters beyond GNI’s control, a bus may wait longer. Mobile phone numbers of the bus greeters will be provided — touch base with them if you are going to experience any delays.
Yes. You may change your reservation as many times as you’d like up until two weeks before The Gathering is scheduled to begin, depending upon availability of seats. Be sure to contact the GNI Business Office for any changes. Changes made after August 10 may be assessed a $5 administrative change fee.
No. But your confirmation will have all of the information you need — name of the bus greeter, mobile phone number, pick up location, time, etc. There is also a map of the airport or pickup location in Manhattan on the confirmation letter.
You may bring all of your luggage on the bus, although the bus is nearly at capacity with baggage when most of the seats are full. We do ask that any smaller bags that can be carried on (and stored overhead or under the seat) be taken with you to help ease the loading of the main cargo compartments. If you intend to bring a lot of items and are taking the bus, we suggest you ship your items via a common carrier to camp.
For registration, housing, buses, or refunds, contact the GNI Business Office or email gni@gaynaturists.org. First-timer questions about nudity, age range, and what the week feels like are also on The Gathering FAQ.
Short walkthroughs for the Member Directory, payments, permissions, email settings, cabin lists, and the members-only Photo Gallery.