Challenging course with good hole variety, longer and shorter holes, doglegs left and right, tight holes and a few wide open shots.
Good tee pads and baskets.
Hole 3 offers a rare over-water shot.
Weekly league through the summer.
Course has a nice overall setting when the weather holds up.
Other courses not too far away allow for a good day of disc golfing.
High "fun factor" overall, course is well suited to a wide variety of skill levels. Short enough for newer players (though I wouldn't recommend it for a first time player due to underbrush) but tight enough to challenge even pro players.

2021 Update: I have bumped my 3.5 up to a 4. Dabney as a course has aged like fine wine, largely as a result of lots of hard work and care by the locals. There are now quite a few holes with 3 pin positions, which get rotated very regularly. There's more mowing in the summer, and in general it feels like the edges have been touched up in recent years. Hole 18 which had safety concerns was replaced with a new hole 1 which is closer to the main parking lot, and there's now a little practice basket with plenty of space near the first tee. At this point one of the only things the course could really use is quality tee signs that can show different pin positions, as the course has lots of blind holes and a few non-intuitive pin locations. That and perhaps some sort of Hole 1 kiosk.

Element of luck is very present, course can be very fickle.
As mentioned course can get pretty overgrown in the summertime
Tweakers have been known to break into cars (don't leave any valuables)
Some might find the lack of longer drives a minus factor.

On the whole Dabney is a very nice course, it challenges pretty much all ability levels and gives those with less distance a fighting chance. It's also one of the closest 18 hole courses to many in Portland. If you live somewhere in the metro area definitely play Dabney, if you're in Portland for a few days come check it out, but I would prioritize more marquee courses like Milo, Stub/Buxton, Pier (though I think Dabney could rival Pier if it's crowded)

An excellent variety of challenging shots with many elevation changes. Well layed out and a great place for an all day outing. This course ranks up there as probably my favorite course. I love the pressure and adrenaline rush that some of the intimidating holes give.

Many of the holes get very soggy and muddy during the winter and in the summer, the bushes take over and make it much more difficult. A tough course for beginners.

Like it was said in an earlier review, you might want to bring extra discs because you will likely lose some if you aren't playing well or are getting unlucky.

-Mostly decent tee pads (hole three is an exception!)
-Decent Tee signs
-Baskets acceptable
-Nice variety of tee shots
-Fun in winter & early spring (before things grow)
-Good variety in hole length
-Good variety of woodsy tight shots
-Fair for lefty and righty
-Plenty of trash cans to dispose of beer
-Fun events to participate in
-Multiple pin positions add awesome variety

-Too many shots where luck is the biggest factor
-Even with the trash cans everywhere, ppl still feel a need to throw their beer cans in all over the course
-During spring, summer, and early fall, I don't suggest playing this course. The stinging nettles grow rampant all over, up to six feet tall, the blackberry bushes mask any possibility of finding a disc that ricocheted off a tree. The "gorge" on the last few holes is inaccessible and even if you can get into it, you won't find your plastic.
-Car vandalism is a big problem at Dabney. Cars are often broken into and the thieves steal everything inside they can take. This is a problem for all Oregon State Park parking lots, but Dabney is worse than most.

Dabney is a fun course in winter, if you're accustomed to Oregon winter golf. For the summer, I avoid Dabney like the plague. I don't enjoy throwing excellent drives, that somehow knick a tree you didn't see, and then soar off into nowhere land, never to be recovered. I don't mind losing discs, but losing discs from good throws is really frustrating.

The overall course design is decent, there are some really fun tee-shots, and the greens are all well protected, sometimes a bit too much.

If I could give this course a rating for how it plays in the winter, I'd give it a 3.5. For summer golf, I'd give it a 2. It's a Dr. Jekyl and Mr Hyde kind of scenario in my opinion.

The course has a nice physical setting to work with including water to challenge, deep, deep gorges, lovely NW forrests, big open air throws and elevation changes. It's well marked with excellent tees signs and has nice benches everywhere. I especially like the #2 hole where you have the choice to throw over the pond (not that far) or you can play safe and go around. A deuce is the reward, probably a lost disc is the penalty unless you brought snorkling gear..

I don't really like courses where there is too great a risk of losing discs, I'm sorry, I grow too attached to my favorites. And at Dabney there are a couple of holes where if your disc sails wide left, it's lost into the deepest, darkest, most meanacing thorny-ass, filled gorge and there's no need to even bother looking. And the worse news, your best option might be to tee it up again! Some players thrive on that pressure.

The locals have nicknamed the course "Grab-Me" because this course tends to grab your disc, never to be seen again. In spite of this, it's lovely! it's worth the trip, it's challenging! Just bring extra plastic!

I can't say anything bad, ok maybe a little, but man is this a nice course. It starts with beautiful t-signs and benches, and then you start playing. The front 9 is relativly open with small trees, a pond and blackberry bushes to challenge your accuracy. Then the back 9 goes into the woods and 4 or 5 holes skirt along a nasty gorge that will cost you some strokes if you can't stay out of it. Wow, now I wish I was in Oregon.

You might lose a disc, but if that is going to stop you......I know where there is a shuffleboard court you can play on, I'm sure the old folks will teach you how to play.