Scenery, 5 stars. Fresh mountain air, 5 stars. Beer and food available at the base sometimes.

A nice hike, the base course features uphill and downhill throws with open and tight fairways. It has enough variety to make players throw most of the discs in their bag at some point, which scores well with me.

I really like the tight uphill holes that climb the mountain starting at hole 8. If you miss the fairway there are hundreds of small trees and drop offs that make getting back to the fairways extremely challenging. Then from hole 13 on it's bombs away on a string of downhill shots. I like elevation and watching a disc take a few seconds to land and there is plenty of that on the last 6 holes here.

DB-5 single-chain baskets will spit at least a couple of putts a round, you can bank on that...and when the wind blows even more. A few teeboxes are pretty eroded. I recommend playing behind or to the side of the teeboxes if you're not playing in a rare tournament at this course.

Signage is not the greatest, just a little tiny temp sign on each hole with no distance, but understandable since this is just a summer course.

I don't consider the condition of teeboxes or signs when rating courses, and this one is a lot of fun and very scenic (I do add points for great scenery).

The base course is free, while the summit course is $20 to ride to the top and play down. The base course is the better course of the two by variety, but I like the summit course just as much, because I like to let them fly!

This has one of the highest "fun" factors of any course out there. Awesome elevation changes, and super friendly staff, (Dee).

There is nothing like spending the day out at crystal huking some plastic, and getting to hike through some great scenery.

The only knocks I can think of are the single layered baskets (the only reason this is a knock is because it gets pretty windy sometimes).

Also it might be hard to find tee pad for number 10 because it is a hike and stay to the right.

Finally it is not a beginner friendly course.

Bring a friend!!! Its more fun, and have someone spot discs.

This course really is fun, after you enjoy some drinks at the Snorting Elk and driving home you will think to yourself... "man that was fun"

The view from atop the mountain is a breath taking experience and many times you will need to stop and rest due to the incredible climb so you have plenty of opportunities to view the mountain while guzzling water. The entire back nine is playing straight down the mountain with big long open drives and plenty of wind, this is one of the most challenging courses I have ever played. There are many, many memorable drives that are unlike any course I have ever played that will stick with you for a while and make you want to play them again. Hole eighteen the signature hole is a 500-600 foot walk completely up hill but when you get there you get to throw off of such a big cliff down to a basket sitting on a giant hill at the bottom of the mountain, I had wished I had more throw away discs just to throw off of it and watch em soar.

Well the cons for some people and the reason I wouldn't play it everyday is obviously you are playing up, down, and sideways on a mountain and by the time you are done you are exhausted, at least I was, in fact I am ready to go to sleep while typing this. Because of the big down hill holes when you miss a little bit offline the disc goes big offline and there are a number of spots to lose discs and most of the day you will be searching high and low for em, I lost four discs but two were on purpose throwing off of hole eighteen. Lots and lots of bugs, in fact during the wooded portion of this course there were flies swarming all over us.

This is the type of course that you play a couple of times every once in a while because of the work involved to play it. I will say that you need to be prepared at this course, bring lots and lots of water, a snack, sunscreen and a first aid kit for starters because you will probably need them all. If you can make the hike the course is well worth playing, in fact the first five holes aren't bad at all with most of the climbing being done within holes six to ten and of course eighteen is the real big hike.

If you like a challenging course that is uncrowded and has huge elevation change (at least 1000 ft) then you'll like Crystal Mountain! It's a temporary course set up on a ski hill summers only. Youv'e got the first five holes that play up and back and forth across the bunny slope, then you've got four holes going up a narrow ski run, then the last eight or so are mainly big downhill boomers. The signature hole I would think is 18. It is a very steep long downhill and the basket is on top of a steep mound of dirt that's about 30 feet high. The course is mainly open holes except for the four going up the narrow ski run. This is the second (after Seatac) most difficult 18 hole course I've played in this state.

Portable baskets with a single row of chains and dirt/gravel short teeboxes. For some folks the fact that there is so much elevation change would be a minus. I think the elevation change really adds to the challenge of the course but you definitely fee like you've had a workout after your game. The course is a bit overgrown in places so it's easy to lose a disc.

It's a long drive to the course but the scenery both on the way and while playing the course is awesome! If you e-mail crystal mountain hotels they will send you a good map. The Snorting Elk Lodge has very good sandwiches, burgers, and drinks. If you inquire they tell you that the restaurant opens at 3 PM. Actually the restaurant opens around 9 AM but the bar opens at 3 PM. However the restaurant does have bottled beer.