Ranked: The best Illinois cities to celebrate World Naked Gardening Day on May 4th

ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — World Naked Gardening Day is celebrated on May 4th, and enthusiasts may be wondering: where are the best places in Illinois to do my gardening in the nude, without fear of tickets or jail time?

According to Wikipedia , World Naked Gardening Day was started in 2005 and has since been endorsed by The Naturist Society, Clothes Free International, and the American Association for Nude Recreation (all real entities, believe it or not.)

NBC Today reported that World Naked Gardening Day “has become an annual tradition that celebrates weeding, planting flowers and trimming hedges in the buff. While it’s linked to a movement of nudists who promote wholesome and unashamed acceptance of the human body, the day is meant to be funny, lighthearted and non-political.”

Now, LawnStarter has gone and ranked 2024’s Best Cities for Naked Gardening , based on four categories: nude gardener friendliness, local interest, weather forecast, and safety.

“Specifically, we considered the number of local nudists, legality of public nudity, Google searches, and forecasts for May 4, among 11 total metrics,” the website said.

The Illinois cities of Chicago, Evanston, Arlington Heights, Schaumberg and Elgin all made the Topo 25 on LawnStarter’s list.

Nationwide, Miami, Philadelphia, New York City, Austin, and Asheville, North Carolina ranked as the Top 5.

LawnStarter also offered a few tips for those who choose to celebrate the holiday:

• Wear sunscreen. Everywhere. Pale parts of your body will easily burn. This applies for naked gardeners of all skin tones and races, notes New York University’s Tessa West.
• Don’t use any chemicals (like weed killer) that might come in contact with your body. “If you need gloves to handle your gardening chemicals, it might not be a good time to go nude,” West notes.
• Don’t sit naked on the ground. You’re tired of gardening, but don’t rest on the dirt or grass. Ants and fire ants are easily confused, and fire ants have a vicious bite.
• Watch out for itchy, prickly plants. Be careful about what plants you are around or planting – poison ivy, cactus, pampas grass, etc. Plant-caused rashes, pricks, and cuts can be hard to reach and treat on some parts of the body.
• Don’t hurt yourself. Do dig some holes for seeds or plants. Do not use a hedge clipper, string trimmer or rototiller naked.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports.