We present VRI CCD photometry of similar to 490 stars in the dwarf galaxy LGS 3 in the Local Group. The color-magnitude diagrams of LGS 3 show a well defined red giant branch (RGB), a small number of asymptotic giant branch stars, and several blue stars which are possibly young main-sequence stars. The tip of the RGB is found to be at I-TRGB=20.6+/-0.2 mag and (V-I)(TRGB)=1.31+/-0.05 mag. From the I magnitude of the tip of the RGB, we estimate the distance modulus of LGS 3 to be (m - M)(0)=24.54+/-0.21 mag for an adopted extinction of A(V)=0.08 mag, corresponding to a distance of 810+/-80 kpc. This result shows that LGS 3 may be a satellite of M31 or M33 which are close to LGS 3 in the sky. We measure the mean color of the RGB at M(I)=-3.5 mag (similar to 0.5 mag fainter than the tip of the RGB) to be (V-I)(-3.5)=1.28+/-0.05 mag. From these values we estimate the mean metallicity of the RGB stars to be [Fe/H]=-2.10+/-0.22 dex. The integrated magnitudes of LGS 3 within the aperture radius r=106'' are measured to be V=14.26 mag, R=13.84 mag, and I=13.26 mag. The absolute integrated magnitude of LGS 3 is derived to be M(V)=-10.35 mag. The central surface brightness is measured to be mu(V)(0)=24.8+/-0.07 mag arcsec(-2). Surface brightness profiles and star number density profiles based on star counts are well fitted by a King model with a core concentration parameter c=log(r(t)/r(c))=1.25+/-0.13, where r(t) and r(c) represents the tidal radius and the core radius, respectively. The core radius is measured to be r(c)=49''+/-3'', corresponding to 190+/-10 pc. The metallicity and the absolute magnitude of LGS 3 are consistent with the metallicity-luminosity relation for the dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group. (C) 1995 American Astronomical Society.