Sunbathers and naturalists be warned: If you go naked as a jaybird at the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest's Diamond Fork hot springs, you could end up a jailbird.

The Utah County site apparently had become an unofficial haven for skinny dipping, until eight nude bathers were detained by sheriff's deputies in October. The group of men and women were issued class B misdemeanor citations for lewdness.

The eight complained that a Forest Service sign near the site just east of Spanish Fork made it sound like bathing in the buff was allowed, but the citations were issued anyway, because state and county statutes are clear about public nudity being a no-no.

Lorraine Januzelli, spokeswoman for the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, said both the deputies and the skinny dippers were right -- and the forest plans to remove the sign and, eventually, replace it with another one making clear the naked truth.

"The sign does say 'while nudity is not prohibited on forest trails,'" Januzelli said. "It also advises discretion, though, noting that the area is used by families and scouting troops."

The Code of Federal Regulations governing the forest does not prohibit nudity except where it can easily be observed by another person who may be offended.

In some states, that is that. But in other states classified as "proprietary" under their constitutions, such as Utah, state and county laws regarding nudity trump the federal code, Junuzelli explained.

"The sign will be coming down in the next couple days, as soon as the snow allows the rangers to remove it," she said Thursday. Sometime later, a new sign -- referencing state and county statutes banning public nudity -- will replace the marker.

Nudity has been banned for some time on the Wasatch-Cache portion of the forest, but it had not specifically been prohibited on the Uinta part. The two forests were merged in 2008, and apparently no one noticed the discrepancy until the eight citations were issued Oct. 11.

Utah County sheriff's Lt. Yvette Rice confirmed that deputies were dispatched to the Diamond Fork site after receiving numerous complaints about nudity, as well as sexual activity and assaults, alcohol consumption by minors, and drug use in and around the hot springs area.

"Yes, we've had the gamut of criminal activity up in the hot springs area going on for some time," Rice said.

One of those cited was Katherine Pioli, a writer for Salt Lake City's Catalyst magazine. She currently is out of the country, but recounted the incident in the magazine's December issue.

Pioli said the group, which included six Forest Service firefighters, decided to stop at the Diamond Fork site while on a camping and hiking trip. She wrote that the group arrived at the hot springs "well after dusk in order to avoid the usual crowd" of nude bathers the site often attracts.

"For two hours we enjoyed ourselves in the hot water. We shared cheese and chocolate. We opened more than one bottle of wine. We set little red tea candles around the rim of the pool -- just enough light to see each other's faces as we shared stories and talked," Pioli recounted.

Then a clothed man wearing a red "Utah" sweatshirt approached and asked if they had any marijuana. They did not, the group told him. Suddenly, four other similarly dressed men came down the trail, surrounded the pool and, producing flashlights, announced they were sheriff's deputies.

The hikers were ordered out of the pool and into their clothing, and after producing identification, they were cited.

No court dates were immediately scheduled, but Pioli and her seven co-defendants could face maximum penalties of up to six months in jail and $1,000 fines.