Bear Mountain is a varied 22 hole course located ten minutes or so off of 285. The course is private and you're required to sign a waiver and book a tee time before playing. Don't just show up and expect to be able to play.

The design here is very well done. Excellent use of the numerous different features of the property to make a very fun layout. There's some decent elevation here but nothing too drastic like the other two nearby courses. This one is much more accessible to a wider range of players due to this. There's a mix of more tightly wooded holes to go along with the more open ones around the house. There's not a single hole that's completely wide open though. There's always at least a tree or two to shape shots around. It's just an engaging round from start to end.

The baskets are a mix of different types. The majority of the ones we ended up playing to were Disc Nation Liberty's I think. I'd never heard of these but they're actually really nice. They're all portable but mounted down solidly and level. The tops look kinda like older Mach's the the cage of a Chainstar Pro. They also have a yellow number plate attached to the top with the hole #. I really liked these. There's also a few other random ones scattered about, these looked homemade but plenty effective. Most of the holes had at least two baskets per hole, some even had three. This was amazing to see. I wish I'd had time to play another round to some of the different pins.

The tee signs are really nice looking too. These have a basic hole map showing the multiple different pin positions, hole #, distances and a next tee arrow. Most of the baskets have a white wooden arrow pointing toward the next tee as well.

The flow of the course is pretty simple and the Udisc map was spot on the couple times I needed to check it. The first 14 holes play along the west side of the property, ending near the house. The rest of the holes play down and back up the eastern side of the property, ending right by the house. This is a great split that brings you back near your vehicle to refill on drinks or snacks and if you need to use the restroom. The wife certainly appreciated this. Dan also has water jugs up by the house for refilling, which both of us appreciated.

There's a pretty nice little pro shop in the garage too, with a solid selection of different discs and apparel. It's not your normal big name brands either. There's some MVP/Axiom/Streamline to go along with some RPM, Infinite, Mint discs and a few other smaller brands.

The tee pads are gravel. I don't have any issue with these but i know some people do, so worth mentioning. These were all nicely done for gravel though.

As nice as the tee signs were, there's clearly been some baskets added since these were made so there's taped over distances and whatnot.

Hole 1 plays over hole 3's fairway. With it being private and I'd assume not generally super busy this isn't a huge issue, but could be an issue if people aren't careful.

This was my second course up in the mountains and man what another gem this was. Gorgeous views from all over the course and just a fun place to throw a round or two. I'll be back here without a doubt if I make it back out this way again. Dan was a fantastic host and just an awesome dude in general. You can tell how much he loves the course and you can see how much work he puts into it. This is an absolute must if you find yourself out this way. Great course.

The most homey of the US-285 mountain courses, with a grassy mix of aspen and pine.

-Amenities: Mostly dirt tees (which were alright), with a mix of baskets that generally catch quite satisfactorily. Tee signs with maps and multiple basket/pin placements shown, and sometimes indicated via clothespins. Some next tee indicators.

-Hospitality: Dan is extremely friendly. He'll want to know where you're from, what you're hoping for from the course, and how he can help you. I know a lot of private course owners are friendly, but Dan has one of the kindest hearts I've seen among course owners.

-Environment: Really, really pleasant place. Unlike most courses in the area, Bear Mountain is grassy throughout. It also has a great mix of the two main trees - pine and aspen. There are also nice mountain views, though possibly not as great as Glen Isle, Bucksnort, or Beaver Ranch. Mixed in is some decor, from granite slabs to mining memorabilia. This is a place I'd love to picnic, even if there were no disc golf course.

-Layout Options: There are a lot of different holes to play out here. You can play the main 22 holes, but many of the holes out here have B tees and baskets that switch it up. Lots of holes have multiple baskets to choose from. There are also holes under construction in other parts of the property that you can check out if you want a less structured round.

-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: All par-3s, with holes ranging from meh to fantastic. Especially when considering the alternate baskets and tees, the variety is great. Holes (1)-(5) are a great start, with some downs, ups, and excellent use of the aspens and pines to require shot shapes. After that was a weaker section of the course with straight shots that didn't really enthuse. However, holes (10) then (14)-(15) are stellar and make you fall back in love with the course thanks to tight fairways, moderate to steep downhills, and perched baskets. The end of the course is merely solid again. Holes are longer than they look, but the distances on tee signs are accurate. Overall, it's most comparable in gameplay style to Dreamtime Ranch.

Not anything too big.

-Spotty Maintenance: By Dan's own admission, owning a private course can make it hard to keep up with the grass, particularly as you age and lose some mobility. That said, when I was there it was just fine and in the process of getting mown.

-Layout Overlap: On some holes, it's not clear what basket to throw out due to parallel fairways. Also, some holes require straight up throwing over another tee or into another fairway. With not much traffic it shouldn't be an issue, but I definitely had to yield a couple times during my morning round.

-All Par-3s: There are zero par-4s or -5s out of 22 holes. For an otherwise well-stocked course, it's a bit disappointing not to have any placement shots or strategic multi-shot holes.

-Private Road: There are some substantial bumps in the dirt road leading to the ranch. My 2WD was fine, but expect to be traveling very slowly.

I found Bear Mountain hard to rate. Did I like it? For sure. The hospitality is exceptional, and the environment was very charming. Plus, there are some fantastic holes thrown in. However, there's a lot of merely solid holes that aren't particularly beautiful or interesting. In the end, I decided that the experience as a whole was worth an Excellent rating. To me it has less consistent design than some of the other US-285 courses, but it feels more homey. In a metro area, this would be a local favorite, and it's worth a visit if you can make it out.

~Similar Courses: Dreamtime Ranch (Hartsel, CO); to some extent, any of the US-285 courses nearby; in a strange way, kind of like a mountain version of McCurry Park (Fayetteville, GA).

The biggest pro on this course is that Bear Mountain is owned and maintained by the kindest most personable owner I've ever met. Dan is a genuinely happy and caring person, who decided to put a disc golf course on his land and make it his passion project. You can tell throughout the course all the little changes that go into it as he adds and adjust and improves.

The hole design is varied and intriguing. There are some great up and down hill shots, bombers, technical throws. Hole 14 was the biggest downhill bomb and I took a few gratuitous throws just because I could. I think some of the fairways could have been a little more clear, but really for the most part they were great. The first hole might be the worst about it, but there's a huge RHFH line you can take if you've got it.

Baskets and everything else are fairly varied. There's some gravel/natural tee pads, some engraved granite tee markers so you know which tee you're on. Navigation is pretty simple. The map helps, but you really only need it once or twice.

The pro shop is excellent, and a great idea to get rid of all the plastic you accumulate over the years! I loved the custom Bear Mountain stamp so even I got something I didn't need but liked when I was there.

There were a couple horses on hole 14 too, that was just kind of nice. The overall scenery was great, but this was just an added touch of uniqueness to the course

There weren't any signs about the hole, so you had to really guess distances sometimes. Until you remember the map you were given and that has distances on it. Once I remember I'll try and upload this distances to the site here so if you're using the app, you will know about how far you have to go without checking it every time.

Dan did say there were tee signs coming, I think that'll be a great addition. There really isn't much else to say. The tee pads were slick bc of gravel, and sometimes unlevel I guess. But it wasn't the end of the world.

Bear Mountain was one of my favorite courses, and I think with tee signs up it will be an easy 4.5. The only reason I gave it a 4 is because I truly think it is excellent, but just lacks the polish and finishing touches of a phenomenal course. But that's totally up to the player, and if you're down for some gritty disc golf with a 5.0 host, this is the best of the best for you.

Bailey DGC is only a mile and half away by distance, but it's on the other side of a mountain so it's a 15 minute drive. Still very easy to get both courses in on one day, and have a truly great day of disc golf! Bear Mountain is the less strenuous of the two, but is probably about the same in disc golf.

Course is full of beautiful aspens. Because of the multiple holes with alternate tees and/or pins, we played 28 holes without repeating one. The variation of long and short holes was pretty cool. There were some cool hole locations, specifically baskets on top of rocks and hidden by rocks. I also liked the way the back 9 used the preponderance of trees to make tunnel shots.

This may seem petty, but the grass was full of clinging seed things that kept getting in our socks. Small but annoying. No hole maps. If we hadn't been playing with a local, it would've taken us much longer, but he helped us with the hidden pins. The tee pads were uneven at times and pretty soft, but that costs a lot of money so it's understandable.

One of my favorite things about playing the course was the dogs running around the whole time. They're very friendly and pettable. Also, Incredible Pro Shop. Dan is an ambassador for RPM discs (from New Zealand). In addition, he sells rare collectible discs that are hard to find. Very fun course. Would love to play again.