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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Laura Sharman

Nudist holiday retreat with giant Monopoly board where getting 'excited' banned

A nudist holiday retreat offers family friendly games such as Monopoly where guests strip bare and play together.

Fern Hills Club in Bloomington, Indiana, US, has been a safe haven for nudists for 75 years.

Parents bring their children to enjoy swimming, tennis and golf all without getting dressed in the morning.

The family-run holiday has randy members marched off the premises if they are too "immature" to avoid getting overexcited.

Guests can play a naked version of giant Monopoly known as 'Campopoly.'

There is also a large playground for nude children to climb on and play outside, reports the Daily Star.

Background checks are made on new guests to protect the family friendly atmosphere and ensure they are not staying for the wrong reasons.

The land was bought to become a retreat in 1947 and the swimming pool was built soon after (Fern Hills Club)

Co-owner and treasurer Karen Bauer said: “Once you go through the gate, it’s like the outside world just fades away.”

Karen has been involved with Fern Hills since her parents managed it in 1966 and went on to buy it 10 years later.

In 2003, Karen and her sisters took over the club and she has since roped in her husband Jawn Bauer, a senior law firm partner.

Fern Hills Club in Indiana (Fern Hills Club)

"It’s not about sexuality. It's just about enjoying nature in a way that's fun,” Jawn told IDS News.

The couple told how men are often concerned about getting turned on when surrounded by naked bodies at the site.

“We get young men who say 'well, how’s it not sexual? How do I control myself?'” Karen said.

Her husband Jawn said his response tends to be: “If you get aroused, you don’t need to be here."

Guests must put down towels before taking a seat (Fern Hills Club)

He added: "That means you’re too immature or unable to separate the sexuality versus the nudism. And until you can do that, don’t knock on the gate.”

Strict club rules limit the number of singleton guests and requires married men to come with their spouses in order to gain entry.

Guests are banned from being racy in public and must carry a personal towel to sit on when nude.

Staff run strict background checks on first time visitors (Fern Hills Club)

Karen and Jawn's efforts at the campsite to keep out potentially unsuitable guests appear to be working as arousal is rarely an issue, they said.

Defending the decision to let naked children mingle with nudists, Jawn argued that it teaches them to appreciate the different shapes of the human body.

“They are out exploring, and asking and looking," he said.

The club has been a nudist safe haven for 75 years (Fern Hills Club)

"They’re grown up to respect the body, to understand the body, to know that not all bodies are absolutely perfect.”

Karen said she has never felt ashamed of the nudist way of life, having been raised at Fern Hills in a nudist family.

She added: “I knew there was nothing wrong with it. I was proud to be a nudist.”

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