Concrete tee pads. High quality baskets. The variation in terrain was solid, with open shots as well as wooded, and one hole across a pond. There isn't a ton of elevation change, but the land is used creatively and there aren't many easy birdies on the course. The fact that you're playing in a multi-use park but are separated from all other activities is priceless. I love how much more technical some of the holes are than you might expect. It might kill your score, but when you get a lucky shot (which is what it takes on holes like 6 in the alternate position) it completely makes your day.

Pay to play. The signs were clearly outdated, with many of the pins in "alternate" position with the signs only showing one possible shot. Adding an arrow in Sharpie doesn't count. The basket for hole number 9 was missing completely. The signs on the tees that seemed to be accurate on where the pin was seemed to be off in relation to the distances.

**UPDATE** The missing basket from hole 9 was replaced, and a new hole 1 was put in so they could remove 18. I thought this was a good idea, because the old 18 was kind of a joke. The signage needs to be updated even more now, as there are alternate pin placements that aren't shown and every hole is the number on the sign plus one. I also have to point out that about 90% of the teepads have trash cans beside them, yet there was trash everywhere on the course. Show some respect.

I played this course in September, so nothing was overgrown. I did run into one group who was searching for a disc, but other than that this course seemed pretty easy in that regard. I hear that springtime is a monster though. There was a decent amount of challenge due to trees, but compared to many courses that I've played this is pretty easy. I just didn't see enough of a challenge to justify the $5 parking fee, but would absolutely recommend this course to any discer living in the area. I would recommend it to any visitor too, but don't walk away feeling like your money was well spent compared to Pier Park or most of the (all free) 18 hole courses in the Seattle area.

If you find or lose a disc, stay away from the "lost disc" lockbox. The padlock is missing, so it is being used as a trashcan. If you find a disc, call the number on it and do your best to return it. If you can't return it, I'm sure Next Adventure or the Disc Golf Depot will help the original owner to get it back.

**UPDATE** They finally put a lock on the "found discs" box, but I'm sure it's still full of trash.

-The 2nd half of holes down in the woods play very smoothly and are tournament quality.
-The signature water shot on hole 2 is excellent. It is just large enough of a pond to make you 2nd guess yourself, but simple enough that you should be able to nail it first try if you are focused on your throw.
-Playing through a State Park, this course runs through beautiful greenery, 150+foot trees, and many small creeks.
-Tight fairways that force you to throw with your best accuracy.

-The first phase of holes in the open (other than the water shot) are lackadaisical and deliver minimal challenge.
- For a pay-to-play course (State Park) I was expecting a 4+ star experience, but that expectation fell just a bit short.
- Not really a true con for a seasoned player, but the cliff on one side of the fairways down in the woods for a beginner can be treacherous.

Dabney State Park has the feel of a superb home course, rather than a destination course. If you are in the area it is definitely worth a stop-in, but i wouldn't go more than 30 miles or so if this was your sole destination for the day. The signature water hazard on Hole 2 is memorable. I had a frog jump over my disc upon picking up my drive! Dabney isn't as great as other State Park courses, but it isn't a complete disappointment either and is worth a round or two at some point.

Good course. Varied play. Trees and water hazards kept things interesting. Traffic was light.

Very muddy grounds. Holes weren't always marked well, and could be hard to find.

Nice course to play on the weekend, easy drive to get to.

Awesome Course. All together extremely fun... Water hazard on 2 can be intimidating but if you want to swim, just throw your disc in... I did and came up with three more...

Some mud but not much and there was quite a bit of garbage.

Great Course to take the family to for a picnic and some golf...

First off, the course has a good mix of tight, technical holes and open holes. The open holes still play into tress, up or down hills, or turn corners, but there is breathing room that adds a lot of forgiveness to these holes. The grass was well trimmed and I didn't find myself hunting for a disc once (though I could see where I could lose a few). The designers made the best use of elevation possible, and there is even a water hazard early on in the course. The back side of the course really tightens up and adds some slightly needed challenge to. This area is even prettier than the rest, and plays through old cedar(?) trees.

No dogs, really???? I didn't have mine, but this will be a deal breaker in the future.
Stinging nettles suck, but I can't fault the course for that.
Some holes on the back side of the course border on poke-n-hope, and I agree with one of the previous posts that there are a few redundant holes.

I found myself really liking this course and the level of difficulty seemed just right for myself. The terrain was appealing and well used, and it is right off the highway going to and from Portland While there are few faults to be found in this course, the course played short and didn't have as many brilliantly designed or stunningly beautiful holes as many of the area's other courses. It is worth the stop and the $5 admittance (not a con in my book for any park course) and I can't wait to play it again.

The course has had park staff cutting grass and trimming bushes to the course is in good shape. If you like blackberries the bushes are full on ripe berries for a snack along the way! The baskets were recently moved so if you play this course you might want to take a second look for the baskets before shooting.

On hot days during the weekend you will want to arrive at this park prior to 1130 am because this park is popular with river use users. Parking will run out by noon.

On hot days take water with you on this course because a drinkable water source is difficult to find at this park.

Really good variety of shots required, everything from wide open shots to the heavily wooded holes. The water hole (#2) is not for the faint of heart; i've had to get my feet wet in that thing before. Beautiful location near the river in a well maintained park.

Some of the teeboxes are too close to adjacent fairways and on some holes you must walk back down the fairway to get to the next tee box; if the course is crowded (which it rarely is(, then there might be the chance of getting ht with a disc.

If you are in the area, play this course. It's no Milo McIver or Horning's Hideout, but a good course and remote natural setting make it worth the trip.

Great baskets all in great condition.

Concrete teepads of uniform size and length.

Is a dedicated disc golf course so there's minimal foot traffic in the area, no hikers, picnickers, walkers or bikers here.

Creative and varied hole placement. Both lefty's and righty's, forhanders and backhanders will have to use every shot in their arsenal. Anny's, hyzers all of it.

Multiple Pin locations they change throughout the year.

Signs at every hole that show you the current pin location, as well as footage and par.

Benches and trash cans at every hole so litter in minimal.

For such a large park they keep it in very good shape all the fairways are clean and manicured the best they could be, no overgrowth here.

Friendly locals, not to mention it's a popular place people start floating down there river from, so during the summer months expect lots of bikini clad girls

Plays very fast for an 18, my group of 3 finished our first round here in a little less than an hour.

Most importantly every hole on this course is birdie-able and ace-able, which is an awesome ego boost.

$5 for parking, but I saw multiple groups park on the highway near by and just walk.

The back 9 are tight and technical however there are a couple holes that share the same narrow fairway that feels slightly redundant.

Very short. Only 3 holes longer than 300' and only one 400 footer. Save for those 4 holes this is pretty much a pitch and putt course, with most holes reachable by a mid or putter.

Stinging Nettles EVERYWHERE! Anytime you throw your disc into some brush expect to feel the nettles they are literally everywhere here.

Some really easy yet stupid places to lose a disc, The last few holes you follow a ravine that eats discs like the cookie monster eats cookies.

Drainage is poor. Some really mucky spots with poor drainage, so expect to get your shoes dirty, and bring a towel to clean your discs.

No dogs...WTF?

Overall this a very good course. It is spectacularly overrated not only on here by reviewers but also by most Portland area DG'ers.

It's fun, unique and well kept however I generally felt unchallenged by it's length, and was disappointed that nearly every hole in the back 9 is just a 250' tunnel shot.

If you live in the Portland area this is still a must visit, it's a fun course to play, and would probably be my home course if I didn't live 40minutes away.

In terms of difficulty if you're looking for more of a challenge try Pier Park, but if you're looking for a course that's easy on the scorecard and allows you to get pretty. Come play Dabney.

-Dedicated disc golf zone. Zero pedestrian traffic to contend with.
-Stellar variety of holes. Up, down, left, right, straight, wooded, open, long, short...this course will test every part of your game. Balanced golfers will thrive in this environment.
-Very friendly locals. We played a round with some newer guys who were more than happy to discuss local, hidden lines and course history. Met another group who presented themselves as genuinely disappointed we had to go and couldn't share a round with them. I would have spent all day shooting golf and BSing here. Thanks for making an out-of-towner feel welcomed.
-Grippy, large concrete tees
-Excellent (amended/current) tee signs
-Super clean with plenty of trash receptacles
-Benches at virtually every tee

-Pay to play ($5/car)
-No dogs allowed
-Some pretty nasty flora. Stinging nettle galore and (my guess is) quite a bit of poison ivy lurking in the underbrush. Be careful when retrieving plastic inadvertently cast down the ravine to the left of the last few holes.
-I didn't see any restrooms along the links, though I'm pretty sure there were some near the parking area.

Super sweet course. One of the best primarily tight and technical courses I've played. Many little clues indicating this course is well loved and maintained. Sharpied in lines to new pin placements on tee signs, one memorable large, raised dirt box with a tee on it to give the hole a few more feet of distance and a cleaner line (the hill it is aimed at is still very present, but the grade of the ascent is far less radical), zero trash or debris, and guard walls to prevent some shots from skipping down the hill on a couple of the last holes are all extremely good markers that people take care of this course. Good work, guys.

The lake shot (hole #2) and the downhill, light dogleg to the left (hole #5), along with all of the later tight holes that run along the ravine are the shots I dream about. One of the best lots a course a designer can ask for.

I can't say enough about this course. It is a MUST-PLAY if you live or are traveling through the Portland area.

Variety of holes - Dabney State Park is a very versatile park and will stay fresh over the long haul for most skill levels. The front nine of this course uses bush, tree, water and dog leg obstacles to make it challenging and even has a couple of holes (holes three and ten) that are big, long and open 400+ foot throws to round out the rest of the park. The back nine or bottom eight after hole ten as you walk down into a little valley are much more wooded and shorter. This part of the course is going to be more suited to entry level players with the exception of hole 16 which is a brutal 300 feet of scattered trees along the way and feels more like 500 feet. This bottom portion of the course will challenge your upshot and shot placement game pretty well.

Challenge - This is a course most suited to players in the 850-950 PDGA rating level and thus offers challenge to a wide range of golfers. Because of the different ways the course challenges you this is a course you could play all of the time and make your overall game better in no time.

Course essentials - The baskets are all in really nice shape and do a great job of catching. Tee pads are all concrete and the tee signs have great illustrations of where to throw to which is important with some blind basket locations. Navigation isn't too hard as long as you bring a course map with you while playing, that will make it easier.

Holes 14, 15, 16, and 17 play right along a drop off to the left and if your disc goes in here very far it is probably gone forever as this area is EXTREMELY brushy! This is fairly easy to do especially for a RHBH player to have their disc hyzer just a bit more than intended. There are singing nettles on a lot of the course when you get off the fairway. There needs to be some signage from holes 6 to 7 and from holes 10 to 11, I believe without the course map these would of been hard to navigate.

Some of my fellow reviewers have spoke of the friendly locals and not being from the area myself we got in to lots of conversations with the other park users and disc golfers while we were there so I would agree that the locals all seem very nice. This is not a champion level course or anything too fancy but this is a all around solid place to play and practice and improve your game. I recommend playing here if you are anywhere in the area.

Design 3
* The land was used really well to produce unique, interesting holes. There are some cramped holes, especially on the back 8, but the holes are short enough, and there are enough trees to handle most wayward shots.

Variety 3
* The front ten has great variety. Open, scattered trees, low tunnels, even a water hazard (which doesn't seem to be all that common in Oregon). The back eight has much more subtle variety, but all are wooded and pretty short. There is a good spread of left, rights, and straights. And there are alt. pin positions which dramatically change some holes (see hole 13). There is a lack in hole length variety, only 4 holes are 300ft or more.

Challenge 3
* There are no real grueling holes, most are in the 200-300 ft range, and rely more on accuracy than power. That being said, errant shots will be punished. The rough is thorny, stingy, and buggy. If you can throw your mids/putters 250 ft, with accuracy, you should shoot under par.

Flow 3
*The course flows well. Next tees are pretty intuitive, and the hole variety is dispersed nicely through the course. There are a couple of kind of whacky walk outs that are almost back tracking on the back 8, but its not too bad.

Tees 3.5
*Nice, big concrete tees.

Baskets 4
* Nice Mach V baskets, all seem to be in good condition and all have a hole number.

Scenery 3.5
* There are no massive vistas, but the park itself is pretty, and on the back 8 you feel like you're walking through the forest.

Elevation, water, terrain, etc 3
* There is one water hole (a couple more have some creeks, but they really don't come into play too much.) There is some slight elevation on the front, but nothing too big. The back 9, except 18 and one of 13's pin position, is flat; the only time you deal with elevation is if you have an errant throw down into the ravine.



Signature holes 3
* If I had to pick one, I might say number 2 (a shorter hole over water) or number 8 (a sweeping dogleg right, to a protected pin that's in the vicinity of the creek). In all honesty though, there's no real "wow" hole here.

Risk/Reward 3.5
* The front doesn't punish nearly as bad as the back, except for the water hole. That isn't to say you can't get in trouble. All of the front is at least bordered by trees and rough and the wind really comes into play here. The back is much tighter, and there is a decent sized ravine bordering the left hand side of holes 14-17 which does wonders for the "pucker" factor. Go down here and the best case scenario is finding your disc after getting stung sufficiently by the stinging nettle, now you have a steep uphill shot to a fairway or basket that is usually guarded with trees.

Amenities, signs, garbage cans, etc 2 (out of 2.5)
* There are bathrooms somewhere in the park, signs at every hole that give a hole layout and distance, and garbage cans and benches at a number of tees.


Ease of play for someone unfamiliar to the course 2 (out of 2.5)
* The course is small enough that next tee is never too far off. Plus there are usually enough players to just follow along. One tricky spot is the walk out from 10 to 11. There's a road behind 10's basket, walk out to it and follow it downhill, 11 is off to the left at the bottom

*Short. Not necessarily a con, but if you're expecting to fire the cannon, head to Milo or Pier.
*Crowds. Usually not horrible, and if it is, most people are really cool about letting you join up or play through. I've met nothing but cool people out here, but if you like to be alone, this might not be the course for you.
*Stinging or pricking plants. The rough is full of it, so avoid at all costs.
*Mud and puddles. NEWSFLASH: Oregon winters and springs are wet..... But there are some areas of the course that stay muddy long after the rain stops.

Dabney is a really fun, challenging course that can be appealing to a wide range of players. For newer players, the holes are short enough that par is within the realm of possibility. For more advanced players, the holes are technical enough that birdies are not a given. The variety keeps it interesting, and forces you to use multiple shots throughout a round.

While it may not be a giant, this is still a fun course that is worth checking out.



Total Score= 36.5/55 = .66 = 3.5/5 discs

it's a very well kept course, easy to navegate. hole signs accurate, they even have a lost disc return box. beautiful course with apple trees for mid course snacking

lots of places to lose plastic, daily parking fee, some holes have sink holes that retain water

Pro's this course is for the pro's. Dabney is nice and well maintained. Water, hills and fields.

Water hole is deep and will eat discs...

This is a cool course that has not only technical shots but some long ones to. Good course and lots around it Rooster Rock and Benson and your tired.

Trees!!! Very challenging course. I Like the mixture of holes where one can rip it from the tee, and holes that require precise drives. This is an excellent course to hone one's skills. Has a good balance of backhand and forehand holes. Beautiful place. Course designers did a fine job of placing the holes without altering nature. Great place to find unmarked discs during winter.

None course wise. Gets crowded, and slow. Lots of large groups. If caught behind any group with beginners, intoxicated players, or people who are just unfamiliar to the course you can get stuck waiting forever. But the spacing between holes 10 & 11 makes it easy to jump in on the back 8 instead of starting from hole 1.

Like I mentioned earlier this is a great place to learn disc control. This course forced me to learn many shots that just are not needed at those lame, open courses with less trees. Ride your bike from the MAX in Gresham, great scenic ride, good exercise, and avoid day-use fees!

You are going to love playing this course. It requires accuracy on nearly every hole because mature trees are in play. If you hit the gap then it's a birdie, but if you hit a tree it could be double bogey. High risk, high reward as it should be.There did not seem to be many other people in the area besides players. The front 10 are more open and play differently than the back 8. You must utilize different skills throughout the course. You can get a birdie on several holes but only with a perfect shot. There are multiple pin positions, but I seem to always play when the course is toughest. Great signs for navigation.

Thorns and brush. In the summer, the rough consists of unmitigated plant growth with swampy conditions. Very easy to lose a disc with the right ricochet. The thorns make searching for discs very hazardous. Not a lot of ace opportunities. One tee box per hole. You need a spotter as several holes are blind. A map is necessary for your first time.

Blackberries! I ran this course with my friend and we asked to play through a group of 2 on 18. They looked at us like we were crazy and said no. They both missed their putts. Karma. We birdied and bolted over to Rooster Rock. The course is just outside of Portland, but the drive along the river is great.

Great walk through the course with very few people. It's off the road enough to be quiet and you can listen to the birds do their thing. The course has varying elevations and tight turns to navigate. It's one of the few courses in this area that incorporates a water hazard.

Certainly an element of luck if one throws well. Awful if you do not bring a map with you. Most baskets are not visible from the pads and if you don't know where you are going you will be throwing blind. Very overgrown in areas and some baskets are placed behind tree groves.

Don't throw it into the pond on hole #2. I attempted to go in to get a disc someone threw in there and it's not possible. It looks benign...only about 2-3 feet deep, but there is another foot of sludge that will cement you in the second you put weight on your first submerged foot. I don't recommend taking that second step

Great mix of holes, an insane amount of variety, and plenty of alternate placings to keep it even fresher,

Its beautiful out there as well. Almost every hole has a garbage can AND recycling bin, which is essential since its a state park and therefore legal to have an open container.

BBQ spots, river access, boat access and a practice basket!

Awesome tee pads and baskets, good signs with frequent sharpie updates on target placements.

Disc drop for lost discs, with a list of lost ones and a contact e-mail. (ive heard it actually works!)

Booty when it comes to blackberry/thistle combo plants. If you cant throw in control, bring pants and long sleeves or write your number all over your disc.

Can get soggy.

Over all, when I sit down and think of where to play, Dabney always seems to win. its got everything you could want.

Just be aware of how god awful looking for discs can be there,

A good tomahawk can make or brake this course, with lots of shots on target that need to go around obstacles, or over trees.

People rip on all the trees and obstacles, but i think it just goes to improve your game. I learned to play on this course, and now when i play it with folks who normally crush on their drives, i can actually stay even with them because the course has forced me to develop my throws. If you can figure out how to get your disc to turn and fade when you want it to, you can realllly thread the needle on some of these holes. it is very satisfying to see your disc make it through an absurdly dense stand of trees because you got your accuracy perfect, and then have one of your pro rated friends get a double bogie because they are too used to open drives.

The best parts of this course are the tee pads, parking and some of the hole maps.

As many of the reviewers below establish, this course has a lot of TREES which lowers the skill involved in your drives and approaches. Many holes there are no way to go except through full forests of trees. When I first played this course I though hole two would be the only real hazard. Not the case. Be CAREFUL on holes: 8, 14, 15 & 17. These holes for the inexperienced RBHT can be a problem. I lost a disc on 8 to the left of the tee. Thats a complete abyss of overgrowth.

Additionally, most of the hole signs are currently outdated. Thus some players have resorted to amending the maps themselves, buts not always that accurate.

This course has so much potential. To bad the layout contains many holes of dense trees. If you're in Portland, Pier Park is far better.

Challenging course. Beautiful scenery and friendly people. Concrete tee boxes w/ well maintained baskets. Wooded areas and diverse terrain elevations/obstacles. Great workout for both your body and the playability of your game. Some benches provided for resting. And a clean park overall.

if I recall correctly one of the holes runs along an adjacent hole and if you shank it to the the left it is hard to recover the disk if lost (being time spent as you play 2-3 holes before getting to that area located down side of the cliff covered in blackberry bushes).

Not really crowded but the locals there are extremely talented and you should let them play through... if you are a beginner or in a big group.

This was my very 1st course/game of DG that I played... after not knowing what I was doing it really got me hooked into the sport as I learned along the way throughout the course . I've been playing almost daily since my experience at this wonderful course. And I can't wait to get back to it and play it again but it's a tad far for me to drive to from Beaverton. I highly recommend you play it if advanced and if you are a virgin like I was to the park skip past the pond unless you wanna go swimming

Like this course allot just wish it hadn't been raining. Great mix of of open and tight holes back 9 can kick your butt. Can't wait to make it back out to play again.

Back 9 has a nasty drop off and you can bet on a disc going off that edge. Loved the course other then that.

Lost a beast there first hole went straight long into the pond.