Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid starts with a silent movie of the Hole In The Wall Gang’s last train robbery, followed by the words, “Most of what follows is true.”
That’s probably not the case for the movie. Butch and Sundance are so shrouded in myth, it’s impossible to reliably separate truth from fiction.
Hippie Hollow (aka “McGregor Park”) is also shrouded in myth. It’s been “civilized” now. It has nice bathrooms, wide paved trails for the mobility impaired, and trash collection. It also has law enforcement. Lots of law enforcement, ruthlessly attempting to stamp out sexual activity. Thanks to undercover entrapment operations, that’s largely succeeded.
Back when I was spending lots of time at Hippie Hollow, it was wild and wooly, with dangerous trails, no amenities, and no cops. The hills above the rocky shoreline were an outdoor gay sexual playground.
On any reasonably nice day, you could go to Hippie Hollow and find a lot of horny men up in the bushes. On weekday afternoons, most of them were married guys skipping work to grab a little man-man sex before going home to their wives. Their desperation added to the sexual intensity.
There were more gay men on the weekends and the atmosphere was a little more relaxed. But the hot sun, wild setting, and nudity still made a heady mix. All the men were there for sex, and they usually got it.
The anonymity was a big part of the excitement. It was always a little awkward to run into someone you knew. But it did happen. Two memorable encounters of mine were a guy I’d met at Gay Community Services, who was naked and hiding behind a giant Bible, and the manager of the clothing-optional apartment where I lived. He was naked in the middle of the gay cruising area, wearing a cock-ring and smoking pot from a little brass pipe. He seemed very uncomfortable to see me, so I just smiled and waved, then left him alone.
A few lesbian couples hung out on the shore, but they never seemed to go up into the bushes. Women did occasionally show up. The most memorable for me was a man fucking his girlfriend while a half-dozen guys watched and jacked off. A friend of mine saw a woman riding a man’s cock while masturbating several more men.
Hippie Hollow: Lust On A Nude Beach is a romanticized and greatly exaggerated version of real events, but I think it fairly represents the spirit of the place at the time.