Deer Meadows is a 9 hole course located in the small mining town of Lewiston just north of highway 299 which is becoming a very nice disc golf getaway highway with a multitude of courses located just off of it. The town serves as a kind of gateway to the Trinity Lake area. The Trinity River flows right through the heart of this old town. Lewiston Lake sits just a couple of miles further uproad and Trinity Lake a little past that. Camping areas are located throughout this region. The course sits in small community park behind the "Plug and Jug" local convenience store and the local church, I wanna say it was St. Vincents. You can park either at the store or church to access the course. The course plays in a very large wide open field with a few trees on the southern end of the property framing hole 8 and providing some obstacle for hole 9. The course consists of mowed fairways and unmowed rough, and ends up with an almost ball golf course feel to it, except nothing here from the looks of it is ever watered. The course fairways are fairly tight say 50 foot wide zones with OB rough on each side, giving it a very challenging feel. The course is wide open with no real throwing styles restricted but control is an absolute must as the OB rough is quite nasty. Despite the wide open feel there is quite a lot of different types of holes with uphill and downhill shots with others requiring landing zones. Holes are fairly decent length from 260 feet to 600 feet. There are 3 par 4s all over 500 feet. The baskets are Innova discatchers and the tees are nice large concrete pads. There are benches located throughout.

The rough. The rough was approximately 3 foot high thick brush with plenty of star thistle and stickers galore. You are definitely going to want to stay out of this mess. I could see the fairways and thistles becoming a major problem if the mowing was not kept up at the very least every other week, but when we were there the fairways were all well shorn and neat and clearly defined. Hole 4 and 5 did have a little bit of growth in spots but it was walkable.
Weather exposure. Being a wide open field, there is really no place to get out of the heat if it's a hot day other than hole 8, the rest you're definitely exposed.
Scenery. For the area this course is in, it definitely is not one of the most scenic course. Located just short distances from the large trees of the national forest and mountainous regions surrounding the course feels kind of flat even though it is on a little bit of a slope

This course is defined by OB. I know a lot of casual and rec players don't necessarily play to OB in which case they are going to find this course rather boring and uninteresting. But players who are willing to play the OB and take strokes accordingly are going to find this a rewarding and challenging course. Much like the difference at Winthrop University between the course with and without the OB ropes, the OB rough is what brings the challenge.
Trinity County has a real nice mix of courses located either right on the 299 like Miner's Point and Lee Fong or just a few miles off the highway like Lewiston. Lee Fong in Weaverville has an old school kind of broken in rec course kind of feel and fairly easy to play. Lewiston is a wide open long bomber with massive amounts of ob that even though its on a slope plays relatively easy and flat with control. Junction City in contrast has a much more rugged adventurous style with massive elevation changes and you're probably going to need a little luck to get you through all the tree lined fairways and heavy woods. All in all it makes for a good trinity of courses, and marks about the halfway point between Redding's grouping of courses and Eureka's.All right back on the 299 to the next course at Junction City, I know Lee Fong is the next course but I promised I would only play courses I hadn't played before on this trip, so JC here I come.

Great concrete pads AND signs. Also arrows showing which way to go for next tee pad. Easy to follow course even without a map. Found a way to make the course challenging without trees for obstacles.

Lack of trees for shade and limiting shot options. Star thisle in rough and OB really sucks.

Great use of open land in VERY small town.

-Cement tee pads, good baskets, logical flow and decent signage.
-Beautiful place for disc golf, course was clean (no trash), quiet and peaceful.

-Star Thistle, it's a nasty weed and was prevalent when I played here.
-Intense sun, little shade, not so much a con just remember a hat!

One of the nicer 9-hole courses I've had the luxury of playing. The course is mostly an open field so whoever designed it made the right call going for distance. There was no wind when I played, so I can't truly comment on that aspect. Overall I was glad I took the detour off the 299 and I look forward to playing here again.

First, I designed it, so recognize my bias.

The course in a huge field, but you'll notice the contrast between fairways and rough. The rough is O.B. So yeah, it looks wide open, but plays tight. There are no demands on your style of throw, but there's risk and reward to going for some of the long par 3's or just laying up in the fairway. A shot that I'm learning by playing Deer Meadow is a roller. Other than that, it's a big arm course that is "links" style. Think St. Andrews in Scotland or Bandon Dunes in Oregon.
The baskets are top of the line Innova Disccatcher pro's with 28 chains.
For not having many trees, the fairways are well defined and the long rough, which plays as OB, looks more difficult than it actually plays. It's visually intimidating, but plays fair.
Big downhill shots are a lot of fun. Uninterrupted flights are really nice when wanting to learn your plastic.
The changing conditions are challenging, ie; gravity up and down, fog in the mornings because of the close proximity of Lewiston Lake
Parking is easy. Park at the Church, except on Saturdays.
Store called "plug 'n Jug" within walking distance has snacks and drinks.
Lewiston is a really quiet town, typically there's nobody playing.
Slightly biased to a RHBH thrower, but a good mix of shots can be thrown, as there are few trees that define the hole.
Each hole has it's own character, and keeps the player guessing.
Variables like wind, uphill/downhill, elevation and fog are to be considered.

Sun exposure.
No alternate basket locations (yet)
The open look of the course at first seems boring, but the OB changes that quickly. Penalties pile up quickly.
Discs can be lost when the rough is high.
Slightly ambiguous whether a disc is touching the fairway and is safe, or is completely OB. Touching closely mowed grass is considered safe.
Lewiston is a super small town, so not too many options for eating. I recommend Mountain Valley Grill for a sit down meal or just grab a snack at the Plug and Jug.

This course will allow the biggest arms to let it all out. It's a great place to learn your discs, it's a lot like field practice. The baskets are Innova disc catcher 28's and the tee pads are big and cement. Hope you enjoy it.

(Play Miner's Point DGC in Junction City while you're in Trinity.)