Little Star Park, listed by the local visitors bureau as Little Star Beach Park, is a small day-use beach and picnic area on the east shore of Little Star Lake in the Town of Manitowish Waters, Vilas County. The land lies within the Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest, and since April 2009 the town has maintained it under an agreement with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Little Star is a 260-acre lake and one of the ten connected lakes of the Manitowish Waters chain. Little Bohemia Lodge, where FBI agents and the Dillinger gang traded fire in April 1934, sits on the same lake about half a mile northwest of the beach.

The park is off Park Road, which leaves US 51 across from the Catholic church southeast of the Manitowish Waters business district. The town and the visitors bureau put the beach between a third and a half mile west of the highway. A paved lot sits right behind the sand, so there is no walk to speak of. Near the lot you'll find vault toilets, a hand water pump, picnic tables and grills. The town also points out that the park can be reached by boat from anywhere on the chain.

The beach itself is a short strip of sand with a swim area marked off by rope and buoys. The DNR's county lake survey describes Little Star as clear, slightly alkaline water with high transparency and a bottom that is mostly sand, with some rock, gravel and muck. The lake reaches 67 feet at its deepest point, so weaker swimmers should stay inside the buoys. Neither the town nor the visitors bureau mentions lifeguards, so plan on swimming at your own risk and keep a close eye on children. Like other Northwoods lakes, the water is coldest in June and usually most comfortable from July into late August.

Admission is free. The Northern Highland-American Legion State Forest generally requires a vehicle admission sticker, but the town's page for Little Star Park states that a sticker is no longer required here. The DNR's access record lists park hours of 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The Vilas County visitors guide describes the park as dog friendly, so expect to share the sand with dogs on busy days.

Outside the buoys, the main hazard is motorboat traffic. Little Star is part of a chain with fishing boats, pontoons, water skiers and tubers moving through in summer, so swimmers should not stray beyond the marked area. Water quality has held up well. In its recreational assessment the DNR found phosphorus and chlorophyll levels clearly below the thresholds for recreation use, and the lake is not listed as impaired. The carry-in launch at the beach has no accessibility features, and the launch depth is under three feet.

That launch is the reason to bring a canoe or kayak. The DNR lists it as a carry-in site through the picnic area, which makes the beach a good starting point for paddling the lake's shoreline. Anglers fish Little Star for musky, walleye, northern pike, smallmouth and largemouth bass, and panfish. Little Bohemia Lodge still operates as a restaurant and is worth a stop for the history, and the town's Koller Park and Rest Lake Park, both a few miles away, offer more swim-at-your-own-risk shoreline on the chain.