Starlite Beach is a public park and swimming beach owned by the City of Alpena, Michigan. It sits on the western shore of Thunder Bay, the wide Lake Huron inlet that Alpena wraps around, along State Avenue (US 23) roughly a mile south of downtown. The park is a narrow strip of grass, trees and sand between the highway and the water, and it runs straight into Mich-e-ke-wis Park on its south side, so the two city parks read as one long stretch of public lakefront.

Getting there is simple. US 23 runs along the park's inland edge, and the city maintains free off-street parking lots right off State Avenue next to the beach. The paved Alpena Bi-Path also passes through, so you can walk or bike in from downtown or the neighborhoods to the north. Lee's Mini-Golf sits at the north end of the park, and a short row of restaurants and motels lines the other side of the highway.

The swim area is an open sand beach facing east across Thunder Bay. The water is Lake Huron, so it is cold in June and usually warms into the 60s Fahrenheit by late July and August, depending on wind and recent weather. Easterly winds push waves straight onto this shore, and on a breezy day the surf is noticeably rougher than on calm mornings. The city's park page does not list a lifeguard program, so plan on supervising children yourself and assume you are swimming at your own risk unless signs at the beach say otherwise.

Starlite Beach is free. The city lists the beach, public restrooms and off-street parking as park amenities and publishes no admission, day-use or parking fee for any of them. The splash park beside the beach runs from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily during the summer season, and the city reopened it in June 2023 after a round of repairs. The city does not post separate swimming hours for the beach itself, so follow whatever rules are posted on site.

Water quality is the main thing to check before you go. The local health department samples Starlite Beach weekly from June 1 to September 1, and results are posted to Michigan's BeachGuard system and the Swim Guide. Alpena-area beaches occasionally get E. coli swimming advisories after heavy rain, and those notices can apply to one beach and not its neighbors, so look up Starlite by name. A regional beach guide lists it as allowing leashed dogs on the sand; confirm that against the signs at the entrance.

Beyond the water, the park has three large children's play structures, two smaller play areas, a covered pavilion, picnic tables and grills, an outdoor shower, and a small memorial garden. Mich-e-ke-wis Park next door adds sand volleyball courts, a BMX bike park and another long beach. The summer sandcastle competition is held here, and the waters offshore are part of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, known for its shipwrecks.