BlackBear is a course that is challenging in a good way that will improve your woods game. A good mix of longer and shorter holes for every level player. The course is pretty well maintained and there is nice signage to make sure you know where you're going. The course is in a prime location if you want some peace and quiet to enjoy nature. This is the course I learned to play on, and I fully believe that I am better for it, as I developed a decent mental game and learned angle shots early on.

The course is pretty much all rocky terrain and is a pretty challenging hike in some places, although this isn't all bad. Not a course you would want to bring too many discs to as your bag will definitely be feeling heavy by hole 5. Not for you if you don't enjoy a challenge or steep hills. I would say the only real layout con is that there are only 3 holes in the original 18 that are wide open shots, all others you are in the woods and there are a million trees to navigate. It takes about 2 hours for my husband and I to play a round and we have been playing here for years. Very easy to lose a disc and be searching forever in the Spring and Summer as the greenage is thick. Also plan to go without cell service.

This course is the definition of tough yet rewarding. I would recommend all players who are considering visiting to drop by and play a round, just be prepared with sunscreen and do not try it without bug spray in the Summer and bring ample water as it is a marathon not a sprint. BlackBear is truly one of a kind.

The course is getting beaten in and more playable every day. Stairs from 4-5 are in and make the hike a lot easier. New position on hole 8 plays better than the old position. New long positions on holes 12 and 18. Overall excellent balance of holes, so it doesn't favour a lefty or righty. This course allows you to flex every shot in your bag. New signage all over the course definitely helps point new players to the course in the right direction. Nearly every basket has arrows on them to point to the next tee. Hole 5 has a bench now to let you rest after the hike up, and more benches will be coming soon.

Unfortunately, due to affairs out of control of the club, the parks dept has not been able to install the last 6 tee pads, but the hard dirt pads on those holes are for the most part packed and level (this is the main thing keeping me from giving at least 4 stars at the moment). The rough is still pretty rough in some places, but is slowly getting better. The new placements on 12 and 18 are good designs, but the added fairways and greens still need a lot of cleanup, so play conservative and don't lose sight of your disc.

Alright, I may be a touch biased as a local, but I have worked to make sure this review has been honest. Overall, this is a great course design on the most beautiful land in the state. The course starts out with an open hole, but do not let this lull you into a false sense of security, this course lives up to its name as a bear. Bring your goat legs, water, and some bug spray. Straight across the road is a small climb up to hole 2, and from then until hole 17, make sure you have some good tree karma, because you will need it. After throwing hole 3, continue straight for a few yards, and 4 is the tee pad on the right. The next few holes zig zag up the hill, with 7 playing along the road at the top of the hill. After tapping in, follow the road, going left at the split and look for the white sign to re-enter the woods. 9 is straight up the path left of 8, and be sure to keep the disc in the fairway as this holes rough is some serious business in place. Left of 9 you will find a very welcomed picnic table, rest up, because this is the last big push to the top. Follow the path up from 10 to the top of the water tower to 11. All downhill from here. This hole arguably needs cleaned up more, but play conservative, because discs going too far left, right, and long are nearly impossible to find. 12 has the new long position, straight passed the old pin/fallen tree. Still needs some cleanup but is a great design. Cross the road towards 7, and follow the beach trail back into the woods. Keep an eye right and you will see the tee and fairway of 13 running parallel to the trail. Throw straight, because the next four holes are coined 'birdie alley'. After throwing 14, follow the trail down to the right. On 15, KEEP RIGHT. Discs can and will find their way all the way down to 3's fairway. After 15, follow the path to the bottom of the hill and you will find yourself at the intersection of 4 and 16, 16 being on the left. Gravity works extra hard on 16's green. 17 is straight across the road, playing down the short grass to a hole in the wood line on the right, green sloping down to the creek. Watch your footing if it has rained recently, the green is very slick when wet. 18 is currently in the long position, which is not visible from the tee. Keep your shot in the short grass, and the basket is in the woods right and long. This is the area most in need of cleanup on the course currently. All in all, minus the missing teepads, this course is probably one of the best in the southern half of the state. It is a workout, and a round out here will humble you, but it is a great design and has a huge potential.

(1.) Layout
(2.) Mixture of shots *not LH/RH favored*
(3.) Multiple pin placements
(4.) Constant course work
(5.) Makes you second guess your disc choice
(6.) Elevation changes for different shots
(7.) Very scenic
(8.) Challenging
(9.) Challenging
(10.) Challenging
Did I say the course is challenging? Which in my opinion makes for a great course!

(1.) No railing/steps leading up to #2
(2.) Railing for steps on #4 are too high
(3.) No railing/steps leading from #4 to #5
(4.) No railing/steps up to #11 and down #11
(5.) Huge rock on #15 teeoff area
(6.) Majority of teepads are in, but not all
(7.) Need permanent tee signs
(8.) Not beginner friendly
(9.) Removal of rocks around #13 basket
(10.) Stumps need dug out on fairways to prevent injury

The people involved have tremendously put their heart and soul into this course and it shows from the first time I've played it. Once many of the cons get taken care of, I'm sure this will be an easy 5+/5 rated course due to the beautiful layout and design. If you're a beginner or first timer into the disc golf scene....bring your hiking boots.

Black Bear disc golf course , sitting near the far end of the lake at Shawnee State Park , is a fairly new addition to the disc golf scene ( 2015 ) in southeast Ohio . The large parking lot can accommodate enough cars for a good sized tournament , has a kiosk at the beginning of the lot , and a practice basket . Many of the holes have cement tees , for the blue and/or the white tees . Yest , they have 2 tees and alternate pins per hole . The course has good descriptive signage , with fairway picture , hole # and distance to at least one of he pins . Some holes have landing zones where you have to place your drive in order to go to the next drive to the basket ( examples are #s 9 and 12 ) . The course can be tricky to navigate . You must have a map in order to not miss holes or you will be lost after 1 , 7 , and 12 . This course is not only a big challenge for even the most competitive player , but it is also one of the hilliest courses I have ever played . You will see the tee pad and the basket for #1 , a flat throw over a small gully to an open basket . Then you turn to your immediate right and start your elevation . The course plays on the sides and up and down hills . Great course design . The holes 2 through 13 move down , but mostly up to and around the parking/trailhead and Shawnee Lodge and Conference Center . Holes 14-16 ease you back down the hill . #'s 17 and 18 are back in more flat territory , with #17 throwing close to a park station and slightly into the woods ( 551' ) and #18 teeing off on a hill down a narrow fairway with high thick rough on both sides to the basket on an open green 351' away . A treacherous but good 2 finishing holes . The course is still in it's clearing stages with some of the fairways still having logs and branches , along with poison ivy and stickers to remove . Closer tees will help the casual player a lot . I hope to shake the course volunteers' hands just for lugging and pouring the concrete around here ! Being on the die of a hill , this is not my type of course , but I like what I see so far . Holding a few fundraising tournaments to generate some cash for finishing touches are already a possibility here . I want to come back here in 2 years and update my review . I think this course is already starting to win . You will have a somewhat solitary round most of the time . I don't think lots will deal with the extreme elevation . An enjoyable , but not a quick play . Plan on being here over 90 minutes just for a solo round . Rest rooms and water bottle fillup are down at the other end of the parking lot .Some good memorable holes , but my signature hole would either be #9 , the landing zone throw of maybe 225-240' , to a downhill throw on a narrow fairway to the basket , or #17 , the long throw slightly left to right , to the basket , perched down and just into the woods .
Course Update - I always try to check back on my course reviews to see if course are progressing or regressing . I read that Black Bear is coming along slowly but still coming along . I had emailed with one of the course designers and found out just how close this course is to completion . I can tell that this is going to be special . Course cleanup and the final 6 holes are nearing solid pads . Adding new tees that are coming in , and this course will soon be at least a 4 .

#1 The fairways . I know that the course is still undergoing it's morphing , but your disc hitting the debris here can cause some heartache for the players . The fact the you play on a hillside alone will make you tense up for that drive that clips a branch , rock or tree and rolls 150' straight downhill . I AM that victim . #2 Signage . The course could use some NEXT TEE signs , especially between holes 1-2 , 7-8 and 12-13 . Wasting unnecessary energy on a course primarily built into a hillside can be a bummer . Amenities like benches and some steps or railings would go a long way here . #4 I can only imagine trying to play here after or during a hard rain . Conquering this hill could border the impossible.

Update 9/21/20 . I hope to be down to the course soon . I have a special interest in seeing it fill it's potential . Keep up the great work , Zach , and crew .( I moved my rating up , and predict it being a 4 in my book by the time I am down there .
The course is still a little raw , but the potential is so strong here . This will be the best and most challenging course in southeast Ohio . I hope that volunteers stick with the finishing touches . Great design , with may unique holes . Long in spots , but very technical .The course and area are very scenic . This course should rate a 4 before long . My Recommendation : Not a destination course just yet , but a must play in the southeastern part of Ohio . PLAY IT !!!

Unique Layout. The course winds through the woods and hills of Shawnee State Park. Elevation changes make this a workout. The course has really improved over the past few month and gets better each week. Last week new steps were built on #4 - very nice. The park has done a lot of work for the course. About 6 tee pads are concreted and they expect to have all tee pads concrete by May 26th.

Not all pads are concrete yet but this "con" will be addressed in the next couple weeks when the tee pads are completed.

As soon as the pads are finished this course will be really nice. Each hole has it's own distinct personality.
The Park Lodge is right on the course which is great for food and drink after a round of dg.
The hills of Shawnee Forrest are beautiful!

Beautiful setting
An amazing workout
Discatcher baskets
Definite mix of throws needed
Challenging course

Confusing layout, no signage yet*
Poison ivy
Lots of thorn bushes
It's one &$#@! workout
Way off the beaten path
Challenging course

First, several disclaimers: they're still finishing up tee and basket placement, so only a few tees and no signage at all. It sounded like they were essentially done with the design part, but the lady at the camp office did a lot of apologizing on that score. But, as a result, I wasn't able to play the whole course, as I couldn't find some of the tees.

Also, the course is beyond my skill level. I'm going to try to be impartial and describe it the way most people would look at it, but it's still something keep that in mind.

Black Bear is set in Shawnee Park. I love seeing disc golf in state parks, in because not only do you usually get an established forest, but parks have some of the best scrub land available: you know, the land they thought was useless 100 years ago, which usually happens to be great for disc golfing.

This course winds its way around several steep hills, and definitely gives you exercise going up and down them. Roughly a third the course is uphill (and not gradual uphills), a third of the course is downhill, and a third of the course is flat. Most of the course is wooded, and it includes some long, densely wooded throws.

I thought they included too many uphill throws, although I won't swear that it's a full third of the course: half of the ones I'm calling uphill throws I couldn't find the tees for, and am only basing the number on where the course map showed the tees to be. But even counting only the ones I found, I think they put in too many uphill.

With the notable exception of holes 1 and 18, both of which are somewhat flat and totally open, most of the level throws are alongside the hills, so errant discs can end up going down the side. The flat holes tended to be the longest ones.

Most of the downhill throws were designed so that if you overthrew, you would seriously regret it: baskets being placed with dropoffs or water behind them, or the angle of decent continuing on for quite a ways past the basket.

Overall, I liked that it seemed like you needed to mix up your approaches to each hole, even though the course is almost all wooded. However, I thought that they overused certain design elements (most notably steep uphill throws and baskets in dangerous spots on downhill throws), and that there were just too many holes where a missed shot could easily mean you were chasing a disc down a hill.

As was mentioned earlier, they don't have tees or signs in yet, but they swore that they'll be in soon. When they do get signs in, they really need to put in "next tee" signs, as the course criss-crosses in a couple locations, and there are a few long walks. If you get there before signs go in, hole two is across the road and up the hill a fair distance from hole 1, just follow the path. The basket across the road from hole 7 is #12. Hole 8 is past the basket for #12; follow the curve of the road/parking lot until you see the clearing to the left. 8-12 play somewhat counter-clockwise around that hill, then go back to where basket 7 was, and follow the path that's just below to the other road to get to #13. I never found the tee to 13, but it looks like it's near that path, and 13 is a long throw mostly following that path.

Or better yet, see if someone in the camp office can get you a course map.

Lots of places I was pushing through thorny briars. It was the wrong time of year to easily spot any other problem plants.

Is it worth the trip? If you're local, or passing through the Portsmouth area, yes, once they have signs in, hopefully by summertime 2017. But while there are a few unique and fun holes, I don't think there's enough there to make a special trip for, unless you're looking for a course that's a bit more challenging than most.

2020 update:
Work took me to the area again, so I tried to give it another try... but didn't succeed. I gave up quickly due to the large amount of poison ivy on the course. Signage is also still a problem, and the camp maps are worse than they were when the course was new. There are primitive signs up now, but they don't show much, and I was still guessing at how to get to the next hole each time. There was a sign indicating the long path to hole #4 (presumably to help you avoid getting onto the crossing path, but that's where I gave up.

If someone in a local club or park management sees this, please get better signage up! Most notably, 'next tee' signs on all the long paths, and possibly better maps in the park office. (Or if scouting programs still do eagle scout projects, suggest it as a possibility to a local scout troop.)