The Village of Benito has long held its nickname as "The Gateway to the Valley", due to its location at the convergence of the Duck Mountains and the Swan River Valley. Nestled in the beautiful Swan River Valley, Benito is 475 kilometers northwest of Winnipeg. A quiet rural community of 420 residents, Benito welcomes visitors, new neighbors, and new and relocating businesses with open arms. The valley around Benito has been described as one of the most beautiful spots in Manitoba, and is a nature lover's paradise.
Recreation contributes to the quality of life enjoyed by local residents and visitors alike. The Benito and District Recreation Centre houses an indoor arena, curling rink, and large banquet hall with adjacent campgrounds, baseball diamonds, picnic facilities and a playground for young children. The residents of Benito and the larger surrounding communities of Durban, Kenville, and Swan River, Manitoba as well as those communities that border in Arran, Pelly, Kamsack, and Norquay, Saskatchewan regularly utilize the services that this recreation facility provides. Thunderhill to the north-west and Madge Lake to the south-west of Benito provide fantastic slopes for downhill skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts in the winter.
Numerous nearby lakes offer canoeing, power boating, fishing, and swimming: Benito's location - only 38km away from Saskatchewan's Duck Mountain Provincial Park and Madge Lake, with its great fishing, swimming, and an 18-hole golf course, and 80km from Wellman lake in Manitoba's Duck Mountain Provincial Park (also with great fishing and swimming facilities) - places the village at the centre of outdoor recreational opportunities.
Benito School, within the Swan Valley School Division, offers excellent Kindergarten to Grade 8 programs. There is also a very active Parent Council that dedicates a lot of volunteer time. The Benito Child Care Centre offers daycare services to children age 18 months to 12 years within the Benito School building. Benito also has a Primary Health Care Centre and Personal Care Home, as well as senior's housing in Thunderhill Courts. An essential and major aspect of the entire valley's economy is agriculture. A wide variety of crops are grown in the Benito area: primary cereal crops are wheat, winter wheat, barley, and oats. Major local oilseed crops are canola and flax. Field peas are a specialty crop. There are vast areas of fertile land and abundant supplies of natural resources offering fine future prospects for production and industry. The livestock industry is also prevalent in the Benito area where Hereford, Simmental and Charolais cattle are the dominant breeds raised for their excellent beef. Horses are raised for both recreation and competition. Logging is another key industry in the Valley, with Louisiana Pacific's plant producing strandboard and Spruce Products producing Pulpwood in addition to spruce, poplar and pine lumber, timbers, wood chips and ties. Benito and district is certainly one of the most beautiful, friendly and welcoming places you could ever visit. |  |