The Twin Cities has plenty of perfectly lovely lakeside beaches where you can pitch a towel and spend a lazy summer day, but only one of them has a "vibe." Hidden Beach, on the eastern shore of Cedar Lake, still carries a free-spirited, counterculture sensibility left over from its days as an illicit nude beach and hippie hangout. And it still attracts a wide range of beachgoers: neighbors and ne'er-do-wells, kids and coeds, rock golfers and regular folks. The vibe has been seriously watered down in recent years by extensive city renovations and a greater police presence, which was precisely the intent. Hidden Beach's outlaw days may be gone for good, but it's still a charming, pretty beach, it still offers a rare feeling of seclusion, and it still has an aura that refuses to be renovated away.