Back then I think nudism was more of a taboo than it is today.
That is not an accurate assessment IMO. Once the pioneers fought and won the legal battles naturism flourished for a time, in the US during that golden age there were way more naturist opportunities than there are now and a much more positive perspective in the public as well. Many well known people as well as professionals regarded naturism as something positive to pursue. Studies were done that reinforce the idea that non sexual social nudity was safe and positive. Then came the the sexual revolution and things went sideways, and slowly options disappeared laws against increased etc.
All this is documented in books like Naked at Lunch by Mark Haskell and Brian Hoffman Naked: A Cultural History of American Nudism