What's Really Going On at Lupin Lodge?

According to their website, a California "Human Fox Hunt" erotic lifestyles group has booked May 6 through 8 at Lupin Lodge Clothing-Optional Resort for one of their fetish events (please note registration is required on their website to get access for specifics on the event). Another ponyplay fetish site, The Stampede, describes the event as follows:

The original human fox hunt team and The Stampede is gearing up for our second event in our new venue! All animal role players are welcome to explore their inner animal in a natural setting. Our clothing optional venue provides a safe, sane, and consensual environment to romp in as you please. ALL ANIMAL role players welcomed, Puppies, ponies, foxes, furries, and mythical beasts! There will be outdoor space for lunge, ad cart pulling, and indoor BDSM play space, and a large forested area for the hunt.

Lupin Lodge in Los Gatos, California, is affiliated with the American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) and The Naturist Society (TNS). Both organizations support nude recreation in a non-sexual environment. In the past few years, at least three AANR affiliated resorts have withdrawn from the organization due to overtly sexual activities and marketing to swinger lifestyle groups: Caliente, Paradise Lakes and  Seminole.

Lupin also disassociates itself from sexual activity, declaring that anyone visiting the resort agrees to "avoid behavior which is aggressive, harassing, embarrassing, overtly sexual, or otherwise inappropriate to Lupin's family environment" (rules). Minor children are welcome and are admitted free as long as they are accompanied by their parents. On a page entitled "Lupin, Nudity and Sexuality" it is stated emphatically that "Public eroticism and sexual exploitation are not acceptable at Lupin."

The controversy over the erotic lifestyle groups is not new and was previously reported here. AANR was notified at the time and Terry Justice, Club/Member Liason, gave the following response:

I immediately called the club and spoke with the owners, I also sent them any information I was able to find. Of course they were shocked and very annoyed that this was about to befall them, they are very proud of their family-friendly, non-sexual resort. They thanked the AANR office for catching this, and assured us that there would be extra security at the gate and in the resort. These groups will be turned away and or ejected, and will never be welcome at Lupin Lodge.

Information on the Fox Hunt website contradicts AANR, and openly describes an event held at Lupin last September:

The new venue was perfect for this event, and the feedback from both the venue, other guests, and guests of the fox hunt has been exceptionally positive! We will be doing this again, and there is even consideration to doing this twice a year, since our ideal weather, and time of year is on the edges of the venue's busy season, and into their down season.

Upon registering and logging into the Fox Hunt site, one can read a message from Fox Hunt member "Smash" describing the problems encountered with Lupin and AANR:

This controversy appears to date back to mid-May, 2010. This was the day that Smash, the event organizer, met with Lupin Lodge representative, Cindy Gregory, and the date for this event was confirmed. Shortly thereafter, a preliminary announcement was posted onto The Stampede Talk and copied to the Equus Eroticus events listing. While only members of Stampede Talk can read Stampede posts and these posts can not be found through Google, the EE posting was publicly viewable.

The conservative watchdogs have Lupin Lodge, and the Lodge's website, in their searches. They have made an issue out of the Fox Hunt to the AANR. AANR has politely asked the Fox Hunt Organizers to remove all references to Lupin Lodge and any Lupin URLs.

The Fox Hunt organizers have combed this site and removed all references to "Lupin", or "Lupin Lodge" and now merely refer to it as "The Venue". All references and links to Lupin Lodge in the articles can now only be seen by registered users.

AANR has denied any knowledge of these events at Lupin, yet "Smash", the event organizer, claims that AANR requested that the Fox Hunt site remove all references to Lupin.

Lupin Lodge, AANR and TNS have all been asked to comment on this situation, and as of this writing there has been some communication but no official statement.

Screen shots of the Fox Hunt websites are below in case pressure is put on them to change or remove their information about Lupin.

AANR bills itself as "the credible voice of reason for nude recreation Since 1931" and fields a Government Affairs Team to liaison with public officials over legal and public lands issues. Currently AANR is in communications with the California Parks and Recreation Department over setting aside some public lands for nude recreation.

Lupin Lodge was founded in 1936 and the history of their first 50 years can be found here. The Naturist Society has scheduled its annual Western Gathering at Lupin for August 11-14, 2011.

http://foxhunt.lycanthrope.net/
http://the-stampede.org/events.html

Lupin Lodge in Erotic Lifestyles Controversy

In the last week there has been a buzz on some Internet discussion groups about Lupin Lodge in Los Gatos, California, and the fact that two erotic lifestyle groups were planning on holding their meetings at the clothing-optional club.

Equus Eroticus, a pony play fetish group, posted on their website plans for a "hunt" based at Lupin for September 17-19, 2010.

We will have a large indoor heated play space, outdoor play space, camp space, including cabin and yurt rentals, two hot tubs, a pool, showers, flush toilets, plenty of paved parking, RV hookups, the works. The hunt will happen on top of a wooded hill behind the camp. There are graded paths that should not be too steep for cart pulling, and cars can drive up to the hunt site and park.

Equus Eroticus also claims that all lodging and food costs would be handled by Lupin, and that they might also handle the erotic party registration fees. Their website lists all of Lupin's rates as well as a link to the resort's website.

Another erotic lifestyle group, Masters and Slaves Together Santa Clara County (MAsTSCC), announced that Lupin is their new "home" and were planning their first get-together at the venue for May 23, 2010.

Lupin has graciously offered free entry from 5pm to 12 on site for anyone attending this meeting. Come up early, enjoy the pool, walk in the hills, have dinner at the restaurant (opens at 5 pm), maybe a swim and then attend the 7-9 pm meeting before either pulling out the toys in our yurt or heading over to the hot tubs to enjoy the open sky...Lupin is open and aware of our group, has all their permits and has been around 78 years- we are welcomed with open arms, and hope that your time with us will be a warm, loving environment with leather folk and M/s friends.

There is no mention of these activities on Lupin's website, and they have not responded to my emails seeking further information and clarification. MAsTSCC has also failed to return my messages. Lupin also carries The Naturist Society logo on their home page, and TNS has also failed to respond.

AANR had the following official comment:

I was made aware of these various groups just this week, I did look at their websites and found the content very disturbing. The most disturbing was that these groups had planned on “ambushing” Lupin Lodge and AANR.

I immediately called the club and spoke with the owners, I also sent them any information I was able to find. Of course they were shocked and very annoyed that this was about to befall them, they are very proud of their family-friendly, non-sexual resort.

They thanked the AANR office for catching this, and assured us that there would be extra security at the gate and in the resort. These groups will be turned away and or ejected, and will never be welcome at Lupin Lodge.

Thank you once again for your email and for confirming the intent of these groups.

Sincerely,

Terry Justice
Club/Member Liaison

While the lifestyle groups claim that Lupin is welcoming to their members, AANR is claiming that the owners of Lupin are "shocked and very annoyed" and will turn these groups away. Without further information it's unclear if these visits were arranged with the approval of someone at Lupin, or if it truly was an "ambush" as AANR claims. When asked if MAsTSCC was "lying" when they claimed they were welcome with "open arms" at Lupin, Terry Justice did not respond.

Lupin has a very clear statement about overt sexuality at their resort:

Parents can relax knowing that the others in our family environment share their concern for the inviolability of all children. Harassment of any form is prohibited by club agreements. And no one is likely to witness a discomforting situation, for we share a common ethic that the joy of sex remain a private matter between consenting adults. Public eroticism and sexual exploitation are not acceptable at Lupin.

If anyone has further information about these planned activities at Lupin, please email me at nudiarist@gmail.com.