Little Sand Bay Beach is the sand swimming beach in the Little Sand Bay Recreation Area, a Town of Russell park on the Lake Superior shore inside the mainland unit of Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. The town owns and runs the beach, picnic area, campground, boat ramp and ball field, and the National Park Service operates its Little Sand Bay Visitor Center, marina and the historic Hokenson Brothers Fishery right next door. The bay looks out toward Sand and York islands, and the land here lies within the Red Cliff Band Reservation.

The recreation area sits at the end of Little Sand Bay Road (street address 32665 Little Sand Bay Road), roughly 13 miles by road from downtown Bayfield. From Bayfield, take Highway 13 north through Red Cliff, turn right on Old County K, then right on Little Sand Bay Road and follow it to the dead end. Coming from Cornucopia and Herbster, those turns are lefts. Parking is in the town and NPS lots between the campground and the harbor, and the beach runs east from the harbor entrance in front of the picnic shelter and playground.

The beach is open sand with a gradual, shallow entry, which is why the park service lists it among its favorite swimming spots along with Meyers Beach and Julian Bay on Stockton Island. Lake Superior averages about 40 degrees Fahrenheit over a year, but shallow, sheltered water like this bay can reach the 70s on calm, sunny summer days. There are no lifeguards anywhere in the national lakeshore. Swimming is not allowed within 100 feet of harbors, public docks or boats tied to them, so stay well east of the marina breakwall and the boat ramp. The Wisconsin DNR samples Little Sand Bay Beach for E. coli during the summer season and posts advisories and closures on its Beach Health site.

There is no fee to use the beach. Apostle Islands National Lakeshore has no entrance fee, and its fee schedule lists parking at Little Sand Bay as free, unlike Meyers Beach, where parking costs $5 to $8. The town campground and boat launch charge their own fees. Neither the town nor the park service posts separate day-use hours for the beach.

The park service's Little Sand Bay Marina Rehabilitation Project repairs storm damage, wraps the harbor in sheet piling and adds an arm at the entrance to keep sand out. While the work runs, the NPS marina and visitor center can be closed to the public, the loop road around them closes at times, and parking may be sharply reduced by material staging. The town boat ramp and dock stay open, the NPS kayak launch beach on the west side of the marina stays open with possible rerouting, and Hokenson Beach serves as a backup launch. Call the park at 715-779-3398 before a summer visit to check parking.

Beyond swimming, the site is a common launch point for sea kayak trips to Sand Island and its sea caves. The Hokenson Brothers Fishery, a family fishing operation listed on the National Register of Historic Places, keeps its dock, twine shed and boathouse, and the restored fish tug Twilite is on display under a pavilion. In normal years there is an accessible ramp and beach mat at the NPS kayak launch and a viewing platform with binoculars on the dock. The town campground has 32 electric RV sites and 14 tent-only sites, booked through the Town of Russell.