Bird's Nest Disc Park is a DG-only venue located on the western outskirts of Denver, in the shadow of the Rocky Mountain foothills. Unless you visit on a day with very poor visibility, the mountain peaks will be a prominent feature on the western skyline throughout your round.

The course is mostly wide open, at least compared to the wooded upper Midwest courses I am used to playing. However, the designers here did a good job of using the scattered trees available on the property to help force particular lines on drives and approaches. I also visited in early March when there were no leaves on the trees - summer foliage would likely tighten things up a bit more. There is nothing that I would call tightly wooded by my standards, but one of the later baskets is in a bit of a thicket and it seemed like an over-the-top line might be the best approach there.

There are also plenty of elevation and distance challenges to contend with. The distances average about 350', and range from about 220' to 540'. That longest 540' hole is par 4, and there are seven par 3s over 400'. Several of these are almost entirely open, testing your long-distance drives and approaches. The elevation changes here are not extreme, but enough to affect play on several holes. The most memorable hole for me was the opening one, which is a gentle dogleg left playing downhill the whole way and tightening up as you approach the basket. Off to the left is a low-lying area that could be a water hazard if there had been enough rain or snow melt to fill it recently.

The infrastructure is quite good. The concrete tee pads were some of the longest that I had ever seen. Perfect for those who like a big run up. The tee signs are high quality and had all of the expected info, including location of surrounding fairways and baskets. I think the baskets were Mach V models. They were in good shape, although kind of hard to spot on some holes - flags or colored bands would be a nice touch for visibility. The front of the course has a kiosk with course map, practice basket, porta potty, and covered seating area. Benches are also installed at periodic intervals around the course.

The tee signs showed multiple pin positions on most, if not all, holes. Only one basket is installed per hole, but if you are a returning visitor the assumption is that baskets get moved periodically.

Navigational signage could be improved. I only saw a couple of arrows hanging on baskets. The course is so open that you can pretty much just look around to find the next tee, but on the flip side that itself can be confusing when multiple options are nearby. I played with a group that included someone who has played here several times, and he wasn't sure which way to go on a couple of occasions.

The course doesn't offer as much technical challenge as most courses I have played. "Grip and rip across a gently rolling field" gets a little dull for me after a while, but again that's partially just preference based on what I am used to.

A couple holes seemed to play pretty close together. We didn't have any close calls, but there were only a couple other groups on the course at the time.

You'll only really be able to play multiple layouts if you are a repeat visitor/local.

I think there was only one trash can, at the beginning of the course.

This course has 27 holes, but I was only able to play #1-18 because my group ran out of daylight. Actually, we ran out of daylight around #16 but were able to finish up with flashlights since the course is so open. #19-27 looked like they would have a similar feel, with possibly a little bit less elevation change. It's not difficult to play only #1-18 or only #19-27 if you are likewise short on time.

Overall, Bird's Nest DGC was a nice introduction to Colorado disc golf for me (my first course played in the state). I was between a 3.0 and 3.5 rating, and decided to round up based on the assumption that the pin positions are moved periodically. I haven't played many courses this open, but it seemed like a pretty solid design here that used the available space well.

I was fortunate to have friends host me for this trip to Colorado, and I let them choose this DGC for us to try. The things I will remember about my experience here are likely the view of the mountains on the horizon, and the fun time playing with the group of friends (none of whom I had ever thrown with before). When I return to the area, I would play again here if it made sense but would prioritize getting up to higher rated courses in the nearby foothills/mountains - like Beaver Ranch and Bucksnort.

- Easy to navigate
- Huge teepads
- Great baskets
- Good distance variation
- Back 9 if you're feeling adventurous

- Sometimes grass can get a bit tough
- Not a ton of shade on hot days
- Only a few demanding lines
- Back 9 / some areas off of the fairway will eat your discs if you don't spot well

- If you play here regularly, make sure you contribute to the donations. It's very clear when there are funds for mowing and when there's not.

Concrete tees and tons of hole placements, including several alternate and tournament baskets.

Holes of every distance and shots demanding every type of throw.

Designed as a Disc Golf park.

You can frequently find John Byrd puttering around and he's always down to shoot the breeze, if not throw a round with you.

Wildlife. A family of Golden Eagles inhabits trees on the North border, and I've seen Baldies and several varieties of hawk as well. I've seen Fox, Coyote, and even a Tiger Salamander retrieving a disc from the "lake." I've never encountered a rattlesnake, despite it seeming like prime territory, and do not believe they live here.

Weather. In the windswept western suburbs, storms move quick. The Nest is a MASSIVE course, and if you don't pay attention to those sketchy clouds above Boulder, you'll be running half a mile at a full clip trying to protect your iPhone from getting wet.

This course eats discs. Johnny B does his best with the grass, but most of the time it's pretty long. In addition to this, discs here frequently hit and roll up to 60 feet in any direction, regardless of how it was coming down. The result is that even skilled discers who think they know where a 350 ft shot landed might find it 20 minutes and 50 feet later in a sage bush.

Navigation. If you don't know the course, I can see it being tricky. The sheer length of some holes and distance between tee pads can make you question your target. Random bonus tee pads and arbitrary spare baskets probably don't help.

People know about it now (see below).

This is my home course, and I tried not to be biased. But here's my experience with the course I've played the most. I grew up on the nearby westwoods golf course, and in 2005 we stumbled upon this raw, unfinished idea of a disc golf course on a massive and barren piece of desert that the city didn't care about. The appeal for us was to use the secluded parking lot to hook up with our girlfriends and smoke hookah and such. Eventually, however, we purchased discs and decided to learn the game here, which in retrospect toughened us up and helped our game. Playing Bird's Nest was basically committing to a couple hours in scorching heat getting beat up by the course. A course designed by a man with a lot of ambition, few resources and a wicked game. We loved it then and still do.

Although upgrades and expansions were painfully slow, they did indeed happen, and as of 2017, Bird's Nest is a Mecca for tournaments, families, massive groups, etc. While I wholeheartedly support the mainstreaming of disc golf, I can't help what my friends and I are. And what we are now at Bird's Nest are the guys discreetly discussing how to politely play through your family. The guys who, unimpeded, could manipulate this course to fit any time constraint or player skill level. But trying to keep a round fluid while simultaneously playing through less skilled players on every hole is tricky. I've found myself scratching my head after two hour rounds that have somehow stil felt rushed. Bird's Nest now has the funding, attention and equipment needed to set up a quality experience for pretty much anyone now, and John is working hard to make that happen. Now that the public is aware of it, tournaments are being held almost weekly, and the city even boasts about it on its website. This course is an example of disc golf becoming part of Colorado culture and recreation, and I adore that.

But another part of me misses playing 36 holes in 95 degree heat and and only encountering one person the entire time. He had no idea this course existed and just happened to see the sign headed west on 64th.

All changes and bias aside, I highly recommend this course to anyone living in the metro area, and anyone passing through. Bird's Nest is only getting better, and if the price of fame is traffic, I'm cool with that.

12 years later

Well marked boxes (until 19)
Varied holes
Practice basket and driving range

Holes 19+ were hard to follow/not marked
Lots of cactus on 19/20

There was no water when I played, so losing a disc wasn't a risk, but could be if wet

Multiple Pin positions from short to long

Good mix of distance and elevation

27 Holes

-Doesn't get too crowded, good for early morning/evening rounds

-right next to a dog park

Wind - with it being right up against the foothills it can get windy

Soupy - The course is in an open space/flood plane so during the rainy season and mid spring when it is wet the course can and does flood from time to time making certain holes unplayable

lack of signage - it looks like at some point in the past there were t-box signs showing pin positions and distance but they wore out or were vandalized and tore down, now there is no signage and it is all LOS or just knowing where stuff is from playing before

navigation on the top 9 - non-existent, so unless you've played it before you won't know where to go

grass can eat discs when it is long

wide open, so you can throw sky high shots without much penalty

Like other reviewers said even though APEX puts their name all over it they don't do anything for it. John Bird (the designer and course manager) does everything from mowing, to moving baskets to other course maintenance. So if you want the grass mowed and play the course more than once or twice a year throw a few bucks in the donation box.

-Long Course
-Varied Shots
-Lots of Fun Obstacles
-No Pedestrians/Multi Use
-Relatively Intuitive Layout

-Can be Crowded
-Easy to Lose a Disc
-Potential for Marshy Wet Areas
-Lots of High Grass
-Holes 19+ need some serious love

I played this course for the first time today with no info except a cell phone photo of the map at the kiosk near the parking lot. The course flows pretty well if you take a second to orient yourself between holes, and has some interesting shots throughout.

I spoke a little while with the course manager, John Bird, and learned that this course is entirely maintained by donations. Grass is mowed when there is enough money to by a few tanks of gas and sharpen the mower blades. Most of the cons every review listed would be improved through more funding, so I encourage you to donate!

Fun and long course. Good for just hucking it without having to worry about obstacles. Follow the paths in the dirt to find the next tee or pin.

Can be windy. Often. Confusing the first time.

Not many trees. Good and bad

- Great course for locals
- Easily accessible for regionals
- 27 holes!

- Lots of marshy areas with tall reeds on a number of holes
- Can get crowded
- Not too many trees

Definitely one of the better courses I've played in the Denver Metro region. You can bring your dog to the next-door dog park for canine socializing before or after!

Very long tees, hard to loose discs (unless the weeds are thick), course layout is fun and spread out

not well marked, takes a long time to play

This course is great at the right time of year- when the weeds are dry. the length of the holes makes it challenging

- Can utilize almost any disc in the bag if so desired, and ample chances to practice with longest drivers;
- Rarely crowded;
- The upkeep, especially on the first 18, has been good since early August: mowed grass and baskets are moving positions;
- Several occasions call for an over-the-tree-or-bush throw;
- Big concrete tee pads;
- No non-players to worry about hitting;
- Short holes near the middle of the course provide a few birdie chances for most players;
- Wind conditions can vary;
- The first hole is a downhill launch and screams "birdie."
- It's a quiet course;
- The light around sunset is usually great, as is the view of the foothills;
- Easy access - parking lot is big and close;
- Dog park next door.

- The course calls for few accurate/tight lines;
- All fairways are straight;
- Almost no reason to use a left-to-right throw;
- Might be hard to navigate for the first time without a guide or a map (go left after hole 2; follow the "road" East after 6).
- Terrain is rough in spots, including spiky things that will poke through shoes, esp. on holes after 19;
- Very limited signage, maps, distance markings;
- Few places to rest, and there's only one bathroom (at the entrance).

- It's a long course with no running water, so bring water;
- In its current configuration, I'd contend that at least three holes should be par 4.
- Drop into Golden afterwards and try one of their new breweries, or good ol' Golden City.

- Dedicated Course for Disc Golf
- Wide Open Fields to throw in
- Elevation Changes
- Over 18 holes
- Different Pin configurations depending on the season
- Difficult to lose discs

- Not a lot of shade
- Not a lot of places to sit
- Some holes are not mapped well
- Some holes lack major obstacles
- Can be very busy during weekend hours

This is a great course for all types of players. For beginners, plan on throwing 3-4 times before reaching the pin, these holes are far!

Lots of room- there are always other golfers out with you, but there is a great deal of space to work around each other.

Great people- I've been out a lot recently, and everyone I meet lets me tag along when I ask. One cat I played with got a call to return his Destroyer when other players found it in the tall grass. Maybe this is typical, but I was impressed.

Trees and ground cover provide challenges, but there are multiple paths around them. Opportunities for anhyzers, fore-and backhand shots.

Despite the vast area, it is relatively clean. Not lots of trash (I encourage users to pick up a piece or two), and many of the loose rocks have been arranged into nice borders on the fairways.

Relative isolation of the course is coupled with quick access to Golden, Boulder, and Northwest Metro Denver.

I have not seen any yet, but the eastern edge of the course is low ground, and can be quite wet when the weather is right.

The last 9 holes lack tee pads, if I remember rightly.

Some marble tee markers set out by work crews have been broken up and scattered. Benches at several tee pads have been trashed as well.

This course is such a great use of otherwise wasted space. All of the people I've met out here have nothing but good things to say about it.

The first hole is my favorite, with a steep drop to the basket.

Nice hole lengths. The concrete t-pads are the best I have ever seen!!! Long enough to allow for a good run-up and wide enough at the back to play all the pin positions.

Un-defined out of bounds. Its like playing on a giraffe and saying the brown spots are OB. The OB is defined by rocks laid out in a circle and very hard to know where is safe and where is OB from a distance.

Lots of prickly pear cactus. Good shoes is a must. I rated this higher than most because of the T-pads! I hope the back holes will get t-pads like the front.

This course has a fair amount of holes that require us with big arms to actually use their drivers versus using mid-range or putters like other "so-called" courses. A few shots entail a little elevation change.

Signage is not what it could or should be. Very few trees for those seeking shade here in the hot CO summers.

Bring sunscreen, and lots of WATER. This course if played in the warmer months will not be very enjoyable as you are like an ant under a magnifying glass as this entire course sits in a bit of a valley which gets VERY HOT!

This course has some very nice distance and terrain challenges that make this a tough one for such an open area. The first four throws include some elevation changes, the you have a few long distance tosses, and a few with some trees. A good course to play all day.

Other than spending a good amount of time looking for discs, none.

good course to work on your distance game

-Varied shots
-Tons of distance to let it rip
-Great layout
-Elevation changes
-Lots of space and no crowds

-No trees, shade or water
-You will need the map for the last 9 holes
-The OBs everywhere suck and are not worth playing

This is a great course and almost was a 4 in my book, but it was easy to get lost on the back 9. There was a lot of work done on this place and they have made it look great. Bring a map and you will be good to go.

Disc Golf Only Park. Traffic is kept to a minimal with this. A.k.a no people taking there mary ass time walking down the fairway of your next shot.
- Tough, long course. Not every hole can be driven off the tee.
-Good mix of shots to open up your bag.
-Great imagination/use of the land.
-Fun through it's entirety
-Completely run/funded by individuals who like to play DG

can be hard to navigate towards the end.
-Not enough signs or maps for the holes.
-mainly open shots
-Summer/Spring can get a bit crazy with the weeds and overgrowth... Easy to loose discs then.

Overall, a very fun and challenging course to play. Definitely one of the better ones in the area.

Appealing to be on a course where you are not going to contend with other non-disc types. This course is dedicated to throwing it long and typically with wind as a factor being so close to the foothills. I like the driving range, a good idea to throw a few warm ups before playing. You have to navigate those O.B. 's to really score well.

I would say the wind. It can get real crazy at times. Give this course time and development it will be a real gem. I know for a fact there are visionaries out there and it will come together with time. The added trees and landscape will be valuable in years to come. Lack of water is an issue, so come prepared.

Since I tend to play Mt. courses, I always value every experience that Bird's Nest offers. It's a real treat to play a course that opens up and has some longer holes. Getting up and down can be a challenge.

This is my first review using a rating form.
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Number of holes 5/5 27 holes,plenty of disc golf to play.

Tee signs 1/5 There are hole numbers on the ground (often broken) which causes confusion to first time players
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Tee pads 5/5 Some the best concrete tees I've played that give you plenty of room for run-up

Targets 5/5 Mach III all in excellent condition.They do tend to mix in with the vegetation sometimes though.

Map and scorecard availability 4/5 course map avaible at info kiosk and this website.

. multiple configuration 2/5 multiple target placements with only one set of tees.

. Variety of elevation 4/5 great use of elevation.The only complaint I have is that there are very few uphill holes.

Variety of shot types 3/5 For a relative open piece of land there is a good variety of shots though most holes a
straight shot will suffice.


Tight versus open holes 2/5 most holes are open to the limitations of the land.The few trees are used wisely.

Variety of shot length. 4/5 hole lengths range 180 feet to over 600.The average hole is around 300 feet.This
is a great variety.

layout and flow of the course 2/5 very hard for first timer without map to figure out the layout.Some tees are
a long walk from the last hole.It's very hard with the layout to play a quick
9 without jumping around.

. water holes 1/5 no permaneant water on course.though after it rains 13 has a water hazard,LOL

number of multi-shot holes 5/5 Unless you are an absolute bomber you will be faced with more multiple shot holes
than not
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Rate the maintenance of the course 5/5 this course is very loved and well taking care of.Great care has been taking
to keep the course well manicured.

likelihood of losing a disc at this course 4/5 the underbrush can make it very hard to find your disc.there aren't any other real threats against loosing plastic.

shared use of the course 5/5 This is a disc golf park.There are no other park users to worry about hanging out in your
fairway or asking you stupid questions about what your doing.

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overall scenic beauty of the course and surroundings 4/5 great views of the front range of the rockies and surrounding
areas.the maintaince road and surrounding parks detract a little.

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the number of benches 1/3 a few benches spread out there a rocks to sit on but not usually very comfortable.

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number of trash cans 1/3 very few trash cans.Seems players have a lot of respect for the course which is rare these days.

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restroom facilities for this course 0/3 no restrooms avaible.
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practice facilities for course 1/3 one practice basket on premise.

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message board for course 3/3 great info kiosk with map and league info.





Course totals. 65/100 3.5/5

I rounded up to a 3.5 because I really enjoyed the course.

The tee pads are awesome for the first 18 and pads for 19-24 and A,B,C are rumored to be coming in the future. The park is only used for disc golf so you never have to wait for a jogger or someone walking their dog. The course is rarely ever crowded and the views of the foothills are sweet. It has a good mix of long and short holes that allow you to use alot of discs. Holes 1 and 18 use the ridges to make for some fun downhill/sidehill shots. There are few water hazards and the native grass can be very long in some places, but as long as you have a good idea of where your disc landed, it usually isn't too hard to find.

The tees are marked only with rocks(the signs are in the works: there is one on 15) , so finding the next tee your first time playing can be a little difficult. The course is on open space land so there isn't plush green grass like some of the other courses that are located in city parks, so wear pants if you don't like itchy legs. There is no water available and very little shade, so on a hot day the course can be brutal if you don't have your own.

I really enjoy this course. With it being only a short drive from my house I usually play it a couple times a week. It is a fun course with a good mix of short and long holes. There are no water hazards until the two A and B holes and 23. Hole B is a fun shot between some bushes and over the creek. OB areas marked by rocks and flags. I suggest printing out the map under the links tab if it is your first time at bird's nest