Background

Last year, I attended Young Naturists Weekend at Solair (which I wrote about here). This year, both Solair and Dyer Woods had Young Naturists Weekend on the same weekend, so I kind of had to choose which one to attend. Both last year and this year, Solair's flyer was poorly made (it looked like it was made using the Word 1997) and pretty hidden on their website, as if it was more of an afterthought as opposed to an inviting way to get more young people into nudism. Meanwhile, Dyer Woods had a really well-made flyer that was prominent on their website, like they were actually excited for more young people to come. They also advertised a bounce house and karaoke, so it was pretty easy to choose Dyer Woods instead.

Arrival

I arrived at around 10a that day. Unfortunately, it was a really rainy day, and it didn't let up until around 2p. But, it's not like I spent four hours in boredom. I was able to talk with some of the guests there, and there were even about half-a-dozen-to-a-dozen people there closer to my own age. I don't know if it's the people I was talking to or the fact that I didn't feel restricted by clothes and making sure they were comfortable, but it's been a really long time since I've had conversations while this relaxed. I'm usually so stressed with so much on my mind, but I felt surprisingly open and free. I also had plenty of time to read and crochet (because I always have my crochet equipment with me).

Hiking trails

Once the rain started to let up, I decided to give the hiking trails a try. This is one of the big draws of Dyer Woods, that they have over three miles of trails where you can walk while wearing nothing. Though I do strongly recommend wearing shoes or sandals at least, there are large parts of the trail that have great moss covering, and you can walk around totally nude, completely exposed to the outdoor air on your skin with soft moss on your feet, nothing too tight or restrictive on your body, which feels wonderful.

The hiking trails have lots of wildlife, and one of the most exciting parts was that, for what I think is the first time in my life, I saw an owl out in the wild (as opposed to at a zoo or attached to a handler), sitting on a tree. There it was, sitting, watching, and screeching, and it was awesome. There is also a neat pond within the hiking area with boulders you can sit on to gaze down at it, which it pretty cool. The pond has snapping turtles and snakes, so they don't recommend actually swimming in it, but it is still quite nice. Plus, it is a lot less busy than the rest of Dyer Woods, so if you would like some more isolation, it is a good place to be (but, you know, it's still a family-friendly resort, so be respectful).

But, the water and naturalness of the trails has a downside: the bugs. There are so many bugs on that trail that will fly around and try to bite you. Luckily, there are several spots on the trail with bug spray, which definitely makes it better. I tried going without it at first, but man, those bugs are serious, so I walked back 10 feet to the bug spray to spray myself down. It still wasn't perfect, but it was a lot better.

Swimming

Solair likes to brag about their fancy amenities like the heated pool, but there is also a pond to swim it, so they supposedly have the best of both worlds. However, the pool is really crowded, so it's not good for anything other than just standing and talking (you can't actually swim around unless it's pretty late and way less crowded). And when I tried swimming in their pond, it just felt kind of slimy, gross, and unpleasant.

Meanwhile, while Dyer Woods doesn't have a pool, its pond is spring-fed and it feels so much cleaner than the Solair pond. And while the Dyer Woods pond is technically smaller, the Solair pond has only a small beach you can enter from, while you can enter the Dyer Woods pond from any side, so it is much easier to distribute swimmers. Even on a high-traffic day like Sunday, the pond didn't feel crowded at all. I swam back and forth a couple of times for exercise, and man, swimming without a bathing suit feels so much better.

The Dyer Woods pond gets pretty deep, around 15 feet or so in the middle, which is also fun, but there is also plenty of shallow areas to stand in. Plus, there tons of pool floats and noodles you can use to relax in the deep end.

There is also a diving board and a slide going into the pool, which are lots of fun!

While there is no sandy beach (so I can't build sandcastles), the pond is surrounded by grass, with lots of room to go sunbathing, way more room than Solair.

Other features

Near the pond is a wood-fire sauna. I usually don't like saunas, and while I didn't love this one, I do think the wood-fire made it a lot better and more comfortable.

The bounce house was there as promised! I don't think I've been in a bounce house in, like, 14 years, but it was a ton of fun. There was also axe throwing (well, plush axes with velcro, but still cool), a dunk bucket, snow cones, popcorn, and cotton candy.

In the evening was karaoke. It wasn't the best organized, since the songs came from YouTube, and there were lots of technical issues, but it was still a lot of fun.

Perhaps the biggest issue at Dyer Woods is the smoking. So many people there smoke, and it is tough to find an area to escape the smell. I really dislike the smell of cigarettes, so this was a big con for me.

Day 2

Nearly everything I mentioned so far was just on day 1. I had originally only planned to go one day, but I had so much fun, and I wanted to go when it wasn't raining and there would be more people, so I decided to return the next day as well.

On day 2, it got real crowded; I think I overheard that it was the busiest Dyer Woods has ever been. And yet, it didn't feel crowded: the pond area is so big, and there is plenty of space for everyone to have their own spot to relax on. There were tons of younger people, maybe even 30, 40, or even more. I was able to meet lots of people, talk, swim, and have fun. Other than the karaoke, everything from day 1 was there on day 2, so I finally got to try the bounce house while it was dry, which was even better.

Final thoughts

I definitely enjoyed my experience at Dyer Woods more than my experience at Solair. The people seem friendlier and more welcoming, the swimming is much better, and there is more room to do stuff.

Solair's main advantage is its more premium amenities, such as their hot tub, the pool, pickleball courts, etc. There is also more covered outdoor seating, which is great for eating, playing games, and getting out of the rain. I think this also makes it better for families (there were definitely more little kids and families at Solair than Dyer Woods). They also tend to have more scheduled activities (last year there were some cute games like a donut eating contest and tie-dying). But, Dyer Woods's great pond, extra space, and more welcoming atmosphere feels better overall, at least to me. Maybe Dyer Woods felt more welcoming those days because of who happened to show up, but I did overhear many people say how clique-ish Solair members can be. Dyer Woods is less expensive, but even if it wasn't, I'd definitely go back there instead of Solair!