Bennett Beach
Angola, NY
Bennett Beach is Erie County's only county-owned beach with lifeguarded swimming, on Lake Erie in the Town of Evans near Angola. Swimming is allowed from noon to 7 p.m. when lifeguards are present and daily water testing shows the lake is safe. The county posts the day's status online by 11 a.m.
The county's only guarded beach with daily water testing, though closures after storms are common.
How we score beachesCheck the Erie County beach status page before you leave home; it's updated by 11 a.m. every day.
Parking at the county beach lot.
A short walk from the lot to the sand.
Swimming is guarded noon to 7 p.m. in summer when water tests pass. After heavy rain, the beach may close for swimming.
More Great Lakes beaches
Sleeping Bear Dunes Beach
Empire, MI · Great Lakes
Freshwater Lake Michigan surf below towering sand dunes, some over 400 feet tall, with water clear enough to rival a coastline and a hike back up the dune to burn it off.
New Buffalo City Beach
New Buffalo, MI · Great Lakes
New Buffalo City Beach is the first real Lake Michigan beach you hit crossing from Indiana, a wide stretch of sand at the end of Whittaker Street beside the harbor and the Galien River channel. Chicago weekenders fill it in summer. The town's shops and restaurants are a five minute walk back up the street.
Warren Dunes State Park
Sawyer, MI · Great Lakes
Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer has roughly three miles of Lake Michigan shoreline and some of the tallest dunes in southwest Michigan. Tower Hill rises about 260 feet above the lake, and climbing it and running back down is a rite of passage. On a hot July Saturday the beach feels like a small city.