Bennett Beach

Location: On the east end of Lake Erie; northwest of the Village of Angola; Town of Evans; Erie County; New York.

Maps: Google map; Topographic; Interactive map

GPS Coordinates:

• Entrance off of Lake Shore Rd: N 42.65954 / W 79.05646
• Bridge of Big Sister Creek: N 42.65871 / W 79.06018
• Sand Dunes: N 42.66000 / W 79.06231

Directions: From Buffalo (north): Take the Buffalo Skyway (NY-5) south through Lackawana and along Lake Erie for 20 miles. In Evans Center, turn right onto Bennett Road and follow that to the park.

From Erie/Dunkirk (south): You can follow NY-5 (Lakeshore Rd) north past Angola and into Evans Center and take a left onto Bennett Road. Follow that to the park.

Use Google Maps.

Parking: Right at the entrance to the park is a large gravel lot that can accommodate over 100 cars.

Seasons/Hours: Open year-round from 7am to dusk (Winter) or 9pm (Summer).

Admission: Free.

Best time to visit: Summer.

Time: One can stop and see the lake within a few minutes. A picnic, swimming, and a walk circling the park could be an hour or more.

Handicap accessibility: No. We did not find this park to have adequate access for people with disabilities (in 2013). This is primarily because of the natural state of trails and sand, which is difficult to traverse.

Pets: Erie County park rules state: Dogs must be licensed and kept on leash at ALL TIMES. You must clean up after your dog. Dogs are not allowed on county beaches.

Swimming: A beautiful sandy beach offers guarded swimming from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend when water conditions allow. Call (716) 947-5660 for specifics.

Boat launch: Hand launch of kayaks and canoes is possible, but you would have to carry the craft quite a distance to the lake. There is no large trailer launch at this park. Use the boat launch to the north at Sturgeon Point Marina.

Accommodations: Swimming beach; restrooms; playground; picnic area; bird watching.

Bennett Beach is named after Deacon Joseph Bennett (1803-1899), who moved to the Town of Evans in 1820. As a young man, Bennett worked as a laborer for two years, helping to build the canal at Lockport. He took what he learned on the job south to Pennsylvania, where he worked for their canal efforts as supervisor, specializing in blasting. There he met his wife, Mary Roat, of New Jersey, and moved with her back to Evans, where they raised 5 children. He worked as a farmer and construction contractor, and later founded the First Baptist Church of Evans, becoming deacon. He also held six terms as Erie County Supervisor. Throughout a great deal of his life, Bennett kept detailed journals of his family, his work, and life around him. It is a wonderful snapshot of middle class life in Western New York and is one of the best documentations we have of this region during the canal boom era.

Angola saw its lakeside prosperity begin when the passing Buffalo and State Line Railroad brought its first tourism traffic to the region starting in the spring of 1852. By 1880 there were more tourists than resorts to hold them, and in 1883 Joseph Bennett’s son Judson turned 50 acres his father had given him into a summer resort to cater to the flood of visitors. He constructed a bridge over the creek and set up a camping area he called “The Bluffs,” and later “Pine Lodge.” Joseph Bennett himself got into the resort business in 1885, when visitors offered to pay to set up camp on his property. In the last years of his life, he ran his home as a summer resort. After his death in 1899, his family continued on with the business, catering to tent campers, as well as constructing permanent camp facilities to expand the business. Several other camps sprung up along the lake, including Cradle Beach Camp (Fresh Air Mission), St. Vincent de Paul Camp, and Camp Lakeland, among others.

In 1908 the Lake Erie Traction Company opened a trolley line from Buffalo to Angola, allowing visitors to easily visit the camps and beaches for short excursions, and the resort business thrived up until the Great Depression. The tourism industry here never fully recovered, and in the 1930s the Bennett property was eventually purchased by the City of Buffalo and the camp structures demolished. It was then run as the Buffalo Municipal Bathing Beach. Erie County recently purchased it and renamed it Bennett Beach. The Bennett Homestead was removed in recent years.

In 2013, restoration work began to rebuild the park infrastructure, preserve the rare sand dunes, and improve the wetland at the mouth of the creek.

New York State Route 5

Beginning at the Pennsylvania state line in the Town of Ripley, State Route 5 spans 370 miles west to east across New York, passing through Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, and Schenectady, ending up in Albany. Along the way it overlaps with State Route 20, leading to the common name of both routes as simply “5 & 20.” Several small towns and cities, as well as countless curiosities, eateries, and historic sites can be experienced along its path.

Sand Dunes

The Angola shoreline of Lake Erie used to be covered in a multitude of large sand dunes, a result of the straight westward-facing shoreline that stretches almost 2 miles from Evans Beach to Camp Lakeland. As Lake Erie flows east, it carries sand with it, depositing large quantities of it against this straight shoreline. Then harsh winds from the west propel sand up the dunes, increasing their size. Unfortunately, development has destroyed most of the dunes along this shore, leaving the ones at Bennett Park as the last. The dunes here, some reaching as high as 40 ft, are as old as 4,000 years. They serve as a habitat for shoreline plants, birds and insects, and help to protect the wetland along Big Sister Creek.

The Bennett Home

It used to be located at the end of Bennett Road, on the creek, now near where the foot bridge is located. The home was demolished several years ago, but you can see some remnants of the foundation along the creek from the other side.

More Lake Erie Parks & Beaches

Find a new summer hangout spot or place to swim in our comprehensive guide to Lake Erie Parks and Beaches in New York State.