The course sits on a beautiful tract of Appalachian foothill land in Shawnee State Park. Steep, tree covered hills surrounding deep valleys laced with rocky creeks. If you like getting "lost" (in a good way) in the woods this is your kind of course. The layout is a challenging hike even without the disc golf thrown in.

There's a good mix of shot shaping required, straight, left, right, up, down, etc. Distances range from the 100's all the way up into the 600's. It's a mostly (heavily) wooded track bookended by some mostly open shots which serve as a nice warm-up then much needed relief at the end of the round. Plenty of challenging but fair layouts with some excellent risk/reward opportunities due to the thickness of the rough, greens that run away from the basket, and some natural water features.

There's several memorable holes here. The long, winding, up and down roller coaster of hole 6, the water tank tee shot on hole 11, the cumulative stretch of short, tough, but gettable birdies from 13 to 16, and the beautiful open bomber to a basket near the creek on hole 17. There's plenty of other good holes, but those stand out most to me.

My number one gripe is the tee pads. They're still a work in progress on about 5 or 6 holes. Hole 3 is broken into 2 pieces with only about 4 or 5' of pad left (as of Sept 2021). Some of the poured concrete tees feel a bit short for a full run-up, but I'm also a bit taller than average so take that as you want.

The course lays out with the first 10 holes all working up towards the water tower, then the remaining 8 all work to get you back down to the parking lot. It doesn't bother me personally, I quite enjoy the hike, but some may find it more physically challenging than they expect.

Any other cons are pretty trivial in my opinion. The course could use some additional benches, especially considering the hike. A couple hole transitions are almost more of a scramble to get up the rough terrain and steep slopes. A couple long, kind of wonky walks between holes 7 - 8 and 12 - 13.

Your round begins with a nice, full power shot in the open field near the parking lot before beginning the arduous, tree covered hike up to the top of a large concrete water tank at the crest of the hill above the lodge, playing disc golf the whole way. From there you get to work your way back down to the parking lot.

Again, if you like a good, physically challenging hike to go along with your round of disc golf, you can't go wrong here. The designer's use of the terrain really gives you a good feel for the landscape of this region of the state.

-Serenity. It is a joy to walk through and play in the beautiful peaceful woods. Other than the occasional cars going to the Lodge at the top of the hill you can listen to the sounds of nature to relax yourself after hitting a poor tree. It's a great experience every single time to play through and the woods remind you to keep your calm and not let playing the sport you clearly enjoy be a bad time just because you have a bad shot or 10.
-Perfectly Challenging and Rewarding. The course is what I deem the perfect level of challenge and high reward for hard work and good shots. It makes you think and visualize before you throw if you want to get a good score. You can play this course over a hundred times like I have and still want to keep coming back because just one more great shot or improvement on even just a single hole is so fun. Trying to think up and try new ways of tackling holes to lower your scores is the best. This course really emphasizes the good feeling when you throw a great shot, so much more so than easier courses do, because you have really got to hit a line right here.
-Constant Improvements. I first played this course probably 3 years ago when I first got into disc golf, but I did not play it again until probably a half a year after that despite it being close because it was too difficult for me at the time and it was quite the mess I thought then (especially when you throw badly and get cut up trying in vain to find a disc). But over the years and especially the past year or so it seems I started noticing awesome improvements everywhere each time I went that enhanced the experience and made me want to keep coming back. Some of these improvements are, but not limited to, tons of concrete tee pads, stair cases, clearing dead trees and debris, expanding fairways, dirt steps dug into the side of the hill to make the hikes easier, makeshift awesome stone stair cases, benches, mulching, and more. It's come so far and the sky is the limit.
-Hole Variety. This course offers a little bit of everything. It's 3 out in the open holes to chuck it hard on. It's got tunnel shots. It's got elevation changes up and down. Right and left handed holes. You definitely won't get bored throwing the same straight backhand over and over. I would say that of the 18 holes no two of them play the same at all. I love it and that's what makes it so replayable.

It is hard for me to come up with cons from the perspective of someone who has never played the course before especially since I have played it so much and it has went through so much improvements since I was a first timer and because I fell in love with it last summer. But here are the things that prevent it from getting a 5 from me currently and just some things to be award of that can be a negative to some:
-It is not beginner friendly, but it clearly does not claim to be. However my beginner girlfriend plays with me just about every time I go and has made such rapid crazy improvement, so what's your excuse? Haha. This con does not affect score.
-It is a hike. You may want some water to bring and pack light since you only throw like 5 of your 20 discs anyway haha. This con does not affect score.
-Not your average "feel good" course. You don't play here because you want to have drop in 2's on every hole and feel like you're the best disc golfer because the holes are easy. You come here because you like a challenge and aren't afraid to be humbled. This con does not affect score either.
-Bad Shots Double Punished. When you throw a bad shot at this course you not only get that bad feeling that comes with all bad shots, but you also get to go hunt for it in some sometimes thick and brambly conditions. It is not hard at all to lose a disc here if you throw far the wrong way. Watch out for ticks and be ready to wipe spider webs off your face since it is in the woods. Also, sometimes even your seemingly great throws can be punished and disappear on you. This con DOES affect the score.
-More Concrete Tee Pads. There's only a few of the few dirt tee pads I would consider bad there, but still everyone, myself included, likes to have a concrete tee pad. This con DOES affect the score.
-Stairs/Ditch Bridges. It could use some more stairs in some spots particularly when going up/coming down from hole 11 and when entering and exiting the woods across the small little ditch. I think some tiny wood bridges there would look cool and be helpful. This con DOES affect score.
-Brambles. It's the woods. This is to be expected. There is not many on the fairways though and it has greatly improved over the years. This con DOES affect score.

This is my favorite course of all time for a number of reasons and I consider it my home course. It is my favorite because:
1. Of course it is just 20 minutes away from me
2. It is therapeutic for me to get away and out into the serene woods there to play one of my favorite games.
3. The course pushes you to be better.
4. It helps me work on my mental game of not worrying about bad shots or getting angry when I repeatedly mess up.
5. It is great exercise without the disc throwing and even more when you count that.

CONCLUSION: If you're at the point in your disc golf journey to where you actively look to try and get better, you need to play this course and get ready to be humbled and challenged in the best possible way. I cannot recommend this course enough to experienced players. A beautiful setting for a well-designed and loved course.

I would also like to note that though I have played this course over a hundred times (and probably will play hundreds more haha) I was not involved in creating, maintaining, or running the course in anyway. As with all reviews my own bias come into account, like it being close to me and me loving the peaceful woods there. An unbiased review is actually a logical impossibility based on the definition of a review being to tell people what you like and don't like. I actually just met and played with some of the people responsible for the creation/current state of the course this past Sunday and plan to hopefully get more involved with them and their group and pay the course back for all it has done for me going forward to help it become even better. THANK YOU BLACK BEAR!

The best course in south central Ohio starts out with a lie. But that's a good thing. The very first hole is an open, medium distance par three down in the flats by the parking lot, kiosk signage and map, and practice basket. From the beautifully landscaped, small(ish: 9'x5') concrete tee with a bench behind, to the DisCatcher basket, I'm OK with clearing the storm drain ravine, tossing an upshot and tapping in a putt, but I'll generally give up a stroke to even an intermediate arm. But then… the course gives you a dose of the truth. You cross the drive and look at a 45 degree incline with stone 'ladder' steps running right up the hill. You realize you might want to drop the cart off at the car, and sling that shoulder bag because you are climbing to the top of the park from holes 2 through 11. In the woods.

Your woodland adventure is a scenic hiking trail that Zach (with some help, I hope!) has carved out and detailed with intricate and helpful next tee signage, paths and fairways cleared and fair, and years of stone moved, stairs and steps added, and yes, concrete tees (plus a number of alternate, but more rustic tees) on nearly every hole. Once you've climbed up this side hill section of the course, you have to appreciate the effort that went into getting concrete poured up here!

But the disc golf! There's a ton of challenge and variety. Hole lengths keep your interest level high: throw a 200 footer, then decide how much of that 600 footer you want to try to bite off. Crank up the velocity, and the Bear might get you. I decided to keep to controlled mids rather than risking a tree kick, because the climb down and back up didn't appeal to me. But the temptation is there to try going for it. That's intentional.

This bear will give you all you can handle, even as an intermediate, advanced, or open level player. I would not recommend it for novices or recreational level players, and would definitely caution folks that if they're not fit, they might not make it very far here. This rugged, wooded, technical challenge isn't going to be for everyone, and that's OK. But get yourself fit, and come check out the incredible work that's been done here!

I did get a little confused from time to time on whether the concrete or natural tees I played were 'white' or 'blue', and I was so focused on finding and safely attacking the baskets 'as is', I really didn't look around to find the alternate pin placements. I'm sure they're all unique and challenging. The next tee arrows and path side signage was excellent, but the hole signage is still laminated, so I'm sure they need to replace it from time to time. The 'natural' tees are often a bit rough, being set on a mostly rocky hillside.

Speaking of which, wear rugged shoes. You are hiking a rocky, rooty trail up and down the entire hill here. I played in a light rain, but it wasn't saturated. I'm sure Black Bear might get a little dangerous when it stays wet or icy. Finally, there is no way to keep up with the maintenance and trimming it would take to get this beast even halfway tamed, so it didn't bother me too much when I played the final 100-150' of hole 18 to the long pin position, which hadn't been trimmed for the spring yet.

Having met Zach Harr before he even moved to the area (and started a course, then started a family), my buddy Troy and I had planned to get out to see this course and help for a work day when Black Bear was barely a Cub. We got our signals mixed and went there the wrong weekend, but did get a very early look at what was planned. Being 'bigger' guys at the time, it looked like a potential cardiac course. Scroll forward to today, and I've dropped 130 pounds, so decided to give the finished course a look-see this morning. The weather forecast said no rain til the afternoon. And there's another course on the way East from home. So I went Bear hunting.

It rained. Oh, but not until I'd committed to the 25 mile detour around the state park I had to take to come in from the far side. I was committed. Took extra towels, climbed all those paths and fairways carefully, and played conservatively. That's how you go Black Bear hunting!

Final thought for Zach: Holy Cow! You've been Rockin' this for a Long Time, and I for one appreciate how beautiful, challenging, and fun this course has become.

Good use of the area that is in use. Cool views and a challenging course all around. Good mix of long holes and short holes. Decent signage so far. Not your typical Disc Golf course which is a big pro for me. Not big into the wide open courses. Leans more towards more technical throws opposed to just bombing it which I prefer.

Edit: see other thoughts edit. Some cons have gotten better.

Get the map that is available on this website. You are going to need it. The temp tee signs are in place for the long and short tees. Tee pads are in for the most part but some of them are still gravel and rock. Muddy in a some areas. Number 8 particularly muddy and the trail from 12 to 13. Some of the fairways are really rocky but are slowly being cleared. A few of the fairways are kinda rocky and uneven.

Edit: More teepads are in and fairways just keep getting better. Good signage now between holes and benches have been added. This course is coming along superbly and will only get better. I changed my initial scoring of 3 to a 4 because of all the improvments.

So this course defiantly earns its name! It is a bear. I rated it a 3 only because it still needs a lot of work. Not stroller friendly for those discing moms and dads. Found that out the hard way. You are also going to get your workout for the day traversing this course. Especially if you get a bad tree kick. The rough on the fairways can be brutal. The fairways are cleared well but still need some work. You get one hole as a warm up and then up the hill you go. Fun! Fun! Fun!

Found a disc on 3/23 and ended up playing with a couple of the locals. Good dudes who are passionate about this course and disc golf in general. These fellas are going to do good things here. Will play this course every chance I get. Once all the pads and signs are in and some of the transitions from hole to hole are fixed this will be a pro level course.