Ben Weston Beach(Middle Canyon Beach)

Located in the city of Avalon, Ben Weston Beach is a small and rarely crowded beach situated on the southwest side of Santa Catalina Island. Also known as Middle Canyon Beach, Ben Weston Beach is a part of the Catalina Island Conservancy park. You can walk a few minutes north to see the remains of a military bunker and a gun foundation that was used during World War II. There are many fun activities at Ben Weston Beach, including swimming, surfing, hiking, camping, snorkeling, and scuba diving. 

If you are looking for attractions near Ben Weston Beach, you can take a one-hour-and-eight-minute drive using a golf cart to Catalina Island Museum, a 67-year-old museum that is home to more than 8,000 years old artifacts of human settlement on Catalina Island that include pottery and tile collections, photographs and negatives from the early 1880s, boat models, sport fishing items, and the largest collections of Tongva and Gabrielino artifacts. Spread across 38 -acres, the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden feature California Island’s endemic plants that grow only here in the world. If you like escape rooms, the pirate-themed Catalina Room Escape is a fun and challenging tourist attraction site where you have to escape a pirate ship in under an hour. Another great attraction near Ben Weston Beach is Machine Gun Park, a small historical park that has a German machine gun from World War I.

Getting to Ben Weston Beach can be difficult – after you get off of Middle Ranch Road at three miles south of Little Harbor Campground, you can hike down the Ben Weston Canyon Trail to reach here. There are also safari buses that provide transportation from Avalon and Two Harbors to the starting point of the trail. The Catalina Express operates ferry boats daily to Avalon Harbor dock in Catalina Island from Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Dana Point daily.

If you are looking for attractions near Ben Weston Beach, you can take a one-hour-and-eight-minute drive using a golf cart to Catalina Island Museum, a 67-year-old museum that is home to more than 8,000 years old artifacts of human settlement on Catalina Island that include pottery and tile collections, photographs and negatives from the early 1880s, boat models, sport fishing items, and the largest collections of Tongva and Gabrielino artifacts. Spread across 38 -acres, the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden feature California Island’s endemic plants that grow only here in the world. If you like escape rooms, the pirate-themed Catalina Room Escape is a fun and challenging tourist attraction site where you have to escape a pirate ship in under an hour. Another great attraction near Ben Weston Beach is Machine Gun Park, a small historical park that has a German machine gun from World War I.

If you get hungry, it is advisable to plan and carry snacks as there are not many restaurants near Ben Weston Beach. The closest restaurant Harbor Reef Restaurant & Bar is 53-minutes away and serves seafood items, burgers, French fries, steaks, wine, and drinks.

If you are looking for a hotel near Ben Weston Beach, the closest hotel is the 3-Star Banning House Lodge that is 51-minutes away. Banning House Lodge has a game room and offers hiking tours.