I can't think of a more appropriate place to review than French Creek for my 50th write-up. It was one of the first courses I played and got to embarrass myself on, heh, and subsequently hated initially. Didn't help that I left a prized disc on some fenced-off utility shed from a bad tree hit'n'skip by #4 my first time out. I also avoided reviewing a course so far above my skill level til now.

There are a few star holes, especially on the first loop (#1-7) but otherwise the holes individually become a blur. I just played yesterday, fifth time out, and for the life of me, I can scarcely remember any hole's layout specific after #8.

It's not a dig at the course either. Comparable level courses like Green Lane, I can remember every hole, a series of different challenges and constantly going up and down to reach them. French Creek is much more relaxed, less out to impress you with variety, just like a smooth hike in the woods where you happen to throw discs. And that's sometimes exactly the type of higher level course I want, easier on the body while still being difficult.

Everytime I come here, I enjoy it more and more, mixing the silver (short) and gold baskets and taking challenges one at a time as they come. I don't just measure my improvement over the years by distances here, but the fact I can mostly avoid the sheer number of trees now and reach silver in one shot. Wasn't like that the first four years. The nice thing is it's tall (and so, dark before dusk) forest with very little heavy brush, so off-course bright-colored discs are typically found quickly.

Honestly, if I were to change anything, it would simply be the numbering, 8-18 loop would come first and 1-7 later, just to end on a more memorable final stretch than have it right up front. Like a hike with a final destination.

If you're more of a community courser in distances or openness, give the silver baskets a try until you find your legs on this course.

+Holes 1, 3, tunnel 4, 5, and 12 are pretty good. #3 is the star of the course imo.

The ground is really rocky. Like a million head sized rocks jutting out of the ground. Not for everyone.

The insects really love to nip here. Repellent is much more a must than normal courses, probably because of the lake.

Other than that, I didn't really have much of a problem with the course as it plays. There are annoyances, the gold baskets are really bright, but the silver baskets are a dull graying zinc coating that camoflage into the background and really need to be brightened up.

Navigation can also be a pain. Silver baskets have arrows but the golds don't for some reason. Most of the time the next area is obvious but it still would have helped out at points. Speaking of which, Silver has no finished course map on Udisc, Gold does is not the default "Main", which is some weird hybrid averaging between the two that left me confused initially.

It's also a shame that the mega-pool is closed for 2022, it'd be nice to play this place and then cool off afterwards.

Course loops 1-7 on one side of the parking lot and 8 starts way up top (where you drive in) and ends at 18 on bottom. 13-18 is loop within that.

Terrain: OOOo - Very good. Extremely rocky Pennsylvania forest at its finest with elevation, but not in your face about it.
Execution: OOOO - Excellent. Over time, I've seen the changes that indicate this place has an active club that made it the course it is today rather than one that stagnates after opening.
Upkeep: OOOo. Very good. Good tees, signs, but silver baskets and some navigation needs work.
Difficulty: OOOo - The amount of trees makes good shots worth something and bring consequences to bad ones.
Fun Factor: OOOO - I unexpectantly have more fun here every time I play and get better.
Crowded: XXx. Hm, not here enough to accurately gauge but a bit less than average given the off-hours I go to. The fact that French Creek State Park is pretty much a drive just to get in keeps it less busy than it should be. But there's often players/groups about.
Overall: OOOO - I think this place is a 3.75 but I will bump it up.

Very Challenging course with multiple pin locations
(Gold and Silver). Tee signs and arrows effectively display holes and direct you throughout the entire course. Requires most or all of your shots to complete a subpar round.

Some lanes off the tee are narrow and go into blind landing spots, creating more opportunity to lose discs when leaves are on the ground. #1 tee is far back if you are not familiar with the park layout. Local groups occupy the course most of the weekend.

I have played this course, both gold and silver since its inception. This place is well manicured and mentally tests you throughout. One of the best courses in Berks County.

Technical holes. Seems to be well maintained. Tee box markings are super useful. Brooms on tee pads are a nice touch. Quite challenging but not really cheap. If you're good enough you can expect to make the shots (I can't).

Exactly 0 open holes. Not always clear where you're going after holing out (easier on silver, seems like gold was an afterthought).

This course is a lot of fun. If you're in the area you've definitely got to get here once or twice. Hole 3 is SUPER long and it's easy to lose your disc down a hill to the left. Be careful and/or prepare to look for ages.

One of the first things I noticed was great signs and tee pads, which is a huge plus for me when I play a course for the first time. Once I found Hole 1, navigating hole to hole was easy and self explanatory with the exception of the walk between 7's basket and 8's tee.

The majority of this course is played through the woods, and most of the fairways are tight! Most of the shots are fair and skill based, but there are a few shots from the tee that do seem to require some luck missing obstacles after a fade or turn once passing through the first gap on bootleg holes. Some tight tree tunnels on 500+ ft. holes leave very little room for fades, annies, or S curve shots. Sometimes you just have to bust out the mid range off the tee to throw a straight line and stay on the fairway. I'm a fan of those situations--when playing smarter rather than giving into to ego and going for near impossibe shots is encouraged.

The variety is nice at French Creek...though most of the holes are played through the woods, some holes have thin grassy fairways, some have notable elevation changes, and all collectively have a wealth of ups, downs, lefts, rights, B A B A Start (wait...we're not gaming in the 90's...flashback). The course did not get repetitive or boring in any way as each hole had its own personality and usually offered multiple gaps to aim for, achievable with various throw types.

This is a difficult course for the long baskets. You don't have much room for mistakes. The park is beautiful, and you should thoroughly enjoy this course...definitely has the "IT" factor.

Finding hole 1 and hole 8 proved a little difficult, but the rest of the course wasn't as tough finding the way. Ever since playing a handful of courses in Maine (BAP, Woodland Valley, Pleasant Hill, Boom Field) in which most provided score cards, I can't help but wish that mid-Atlantic courses had them, but French Creek's lack of them didn't affect my rating. There isn't much chance to rip over 350 here...mostly a tech course. Don't get me wrong, the holes are long and the pars are challenging, but obstacles usually preventing those 400 foot hucks. I am trying to find something to criticize at this point to be appropriately critical for sake of the review, but there isn't much to change at French Creek.

It took me a heck of a time 1) finding the correct road within the large state park, 2) finding the DG course, and 3) locating hole 1. Turn from Park Rd. onto the road that the main park office is located at and make your 3rd left to take you to a series of parking lots near the big pool. Hole 1 is located at the top left of the lot if you're facing uphill away from the pool. The course is on the east side of Hopewell Lake. Conditions were solid for this warm summer day where I did 2 back to back plays of gold course...little bit of growth to watch out for if you let one slip and leave the fairway, but discs weren't too hard to locate. I remember when French Creek was a whole different 2 courses. They were of the first I ever played in 2003. This newer incarnation is great and a must play within an hour drive, and a strongly recommended play for touring players. Easy to route to if you're coming from west doing something like a Moraine, Deer Lakes, Codorus, French Creek, Sankanac, Bear Creek, Nockamixon, Tyler, Brandywine Creek, Iron Hill

this is a review for the silver baskets ONLY! The added pin positions can turn this from a nice techincal course, into a long, world class technical course. Good signage, and decent flow. a very good challenge for beginners through pros. Fairways are beaten in and forgiving. "should" be a complete lack of wandering locals.

Very Difficult to find. follow signs for the pool, and park at the TOP of the hill. Look for the yellow tee sign and bulletin board. The flow is decent but there are some LONG walks if you're playing the silver baskets. hole 3 basket to 4 tee is so long you think you're getting lost. 7 basket to 8 tee is uphill...and again...you think you're jsut wandering. and of course....18 back to your car is another brutal 1/4 mile(ish) walk back uphill. be prepared to huff-puff around the sid eof the mountain. being left handed...i felt that the overwhelming majority of the course was built for the RHBH player in mind. if your lefty, you better rely on your sidearm or annie-throws. If you can throw straight, and rely on your low speed fade as your finish....you've got the (silver) fairways figured out, (mostly)

One of the best courses in the area! im from york and ive made the trek out there several times in the past month just to play the newest layout. an experience disc golfer should make this a destination. play the silver pins first, and once you get the hang of the layout....try the gold. just for fun....play the gold basket on hole 3!!

French Creek State Park isn't far from some of the major roadways (making it easy to get to), but it's still quite secluded.

The course design incorporates two baskets per hole. Obviously, this creates two different playing options, but in the case of French Creek, these options are VERY different, really creating two very unique playing experiences. Distances between the baskets ranges from as little as 30' all the way up to over 530'. Yeah, that's a five-hundred thirty foot difference on hole #3...it's a frickin' monster.

Despite being completely wooded (though some fairways are wider than others), all holes are technically-oriented but fair. Granted, a kick off a tree may send you into the rough and it may cost you a stroke or two to get back to the fairway, but you can get back to the fairway (and possibly recover). The course also features some variation in elevation. There is some rough on the course, but the vast majority of the fairways are in rocky, old growth woods, so the chances of a lost disc is somewhat mitigated.

Both the tees and the baskets are in great shape. The hand-carved and painted tee signs/posts are easy to spot and are a really professional, yet personal, touch. There are benches available on a few of the holes and some are made up of tee signs from the previous course layout. Did I mention that the course was CLEAN? It was very clean. I don't remember seeing any litter anywhere.

A lot of the fairways seem to share the same shape and a sense of repetition begins to set in after a while. Many of the holes require the same drives to go the same distance and then finish with the same left-turning fade. Some additional variety that could have helped the course would have been to make the most of the changes in elevation that were present, find a way to work in a few open fairways (sure, wooded courses are tough and fun, but some change of pace doesn't hurt), and to make use of the water that is adjacent to the course.

In a few cases, the fairways from different holes seem to be too close to each other and may pose a saftey risk and cause some confusion.

Although the tee signs were awesome, getting to the next tee was a chore a few times. Having good navigation to the next tee is important (especially when there are two baskets per hole) and this is expecially the case between holes 7/8 and 12/13. Although finding the first tee isn't that difficult, the park has very little (if any) signage to point visitors to the course.

A couple of holes were very boggy and had swarms of mosquitos hanging around.

The local group (Dead Dogs) busted their @sses to build this course and continue to put forth effort to maintain this beaut. I ran into a few of them while looking for the first tee and not only did they point me in the right direction, but they offered a scorecard, course map, navigation pointers, and other course tips.

If there were more and/or different fairway shapes, types (open vs. wooded), elevation changes, and the incorporation of water, this would add enough variety to easily bump this course to a 4.25, if not a 4.5. That being said, I'm looking for an excuse to head back down to Birdsboro/Elverson so I can play French Creek again.

two baskets every hole
yellow post at every tee with basket locations
just dirt and trees so not easy to lose discs
challenging course forces a lot of skilled shots

long walk back to your car from 18
prepare to hit trees

big course easy to navigate. a definate recommended course to play. the course isn't where the map for the park says it is.

Another quality course located in a nice PA State Park, French Creek is a densely wooded & technically challenging course. It has oversized rubber tee pads which are flat and in excellent condition. A yellow 6 x 6 post at each hole is numbered and has both the silver (short) and gold (long) distances and desired flight path. Permanent baskets are in position at both the silver and gold layouts on each hole. Benches are provided at many of the holes for a needed rest. There is balance for both the lefty and righty thrower, and there is good use of what little elevation there is on the course. Mulch or wood chips define and spruce up some of the fairways. Navigation is pretty easy with a couple of exceptions.

Course crosses the line between being challenging and flat out oppressive on numerous holes with its tight fairways and walls of trees. The countless large rocks that exist in the fairways (French Creek makes Boulder Woods look like a sand trap) prevent run ups and good footing. Some trash cans and some "next tee" markers at a couple of confusing junctures would be beneficial. Difficult to see the gold pins from the tee box, and as someone else suggested, a bright flag or marker would help considerably.

IN THE GOLD POSITION: This course defines the importance of "fairway golf", as veering off course will invite loads of trouble for even very skilled shot makers. The course gives you few breaks and features challenging hole after challenging hole, many in the 500-600 foot distance range. The intermediate or recreational player better get his pars where he can and will likely be mentally drained (as I was) after 36 holes of Gold in a recent tournament.

IN THE SILVER POSITION: The course is much shorter, and thus much more manageable for the average player, though certainly not easy. Mistakes can be erased with good follow up shots and/or recovery at the next hole.

I appreciate the work that has been done here- like many of the disc golf courses in the tri-state area, French Creek has a loyal following which works tirelessly at course improvement and promoting the sport. Definitely worth playing here, but you'd better bring your "A" game.

A world class course in south eastern PA. thats all i have to say about it.

You want wide open fairways take up ball golf!

WERE STILL WORKING ON IT!

Now i know alot of people think this course is too long or too tight... the golds arnt a course for beginners... I have put untold hours into this course and that pails in comparison to how much others have done.. I tip my hat to the DEAD DOGS.. they have been the driving force behind the new course...

We dont have the club sizes that enable other courses to be as well maintaned and to be completed as fast... in the times that the ground is soft enough to do anything with the work parties that can be thrown together dont get higher numbers then 8 or 10 people... which isn't to say thats all that go... Its just going to take time...

By the way if your interested in helping at all you can contact the dead dogs for a work party schedual... im not quite sure how to do that other then showing up for one of the local leagues... all are welcome...

And to those who bash this unfinished jewel... Learn how to golf or stay off our course dont bring it down because your not good enough to play it.

Two choices of holes on each hole (silver and gold) means that players of different abilities can play together happily.
There is a good variety of hole distances, and none are too short or too easy.
The tee signs are helpful.
Very challenging - you'll need to be precise.

Not much open space so get used to hitting trees.
It's a minor thing, but the 18th hole is kind of ugly - from the tee pad, you're looking at a fence and a dumpster.

First time playing since they re-opened the course, and it is an improvement on the two older courses. The hole placements seem pretty intuitive and appropriately challenging. If you like making big, wide open throws, you probably won't like it because the woods are in play on almost every hole - about the only exception might be the 3rd hole which has other challenges (like its 880 foot length). It's great having two choices of pins, and unlike Tyler where you have to play it in the position it's been placed, you get to choose which basket to go for.

This is an 18 hole course with flypads in excellent shape. The baskets are also in great shape, having been moved and probably touched up from the old courses. Gold baskets are marked on the pins in some kind of yellow backing. Many holes are tight, kind of like Bethlehem, PA's South Mountain course. A few holes have some open fairways but don't expect a lot of big arm fairways. The silver baskets will yield a few birdies while the golds will leave you fighting to save par or even bogey... or worse. The course mixed some lefty and righty holes and will also require some tomahawks/thumbers. Poor shots are punished, as there isn't a lot of open space if you miss the "fairway". Playing it safe and being smart will result in a good score. The tee signs are like Tyler State's, mapped pretty well and are for the most part accurate. A bit of elevation change but no severe drops or hills.

The first seven holes play more towards the upper lake, and therefore are definitely more buggy than the last 11 or so. Bring the OFF. The course wasn't too hard to navigate but maybe a little extra signage couldn't hurt. Roads are very narrow in the S.P. so please take care and don't drive like you're on 422. Do beware the course has a lot of rocks and small stumps, so watch your footing.

Pinned in the higher elevations of French Creek S.P., this course definitely beats Doggy Woods and it's fairly similar to most of old Pleasure Mountain. The course was bone dry, mostly because of the fact that it hasn't rained in 7 or 8 days. It'll take a few good minutes to walk to the car after the 18th basket. Park in the highest row possible, because the first hole is next to the bulletin board. Great job to those who helped take the old baskets to the new course, cleared paths, and everything else. This was a treat to play and will return soon!

• In a PA State Park; expect quality
• Sign posts at each tee showing flight path/basket locations
• Rubber Tee Pads in practically new condition
• Benches or logs for seating at most tees
• Cleared fairways with mostly mild rough
• Dual pins (silver/gold) on every hole
• Clearly defined paths leading to/from virtually every hole from each pin area
• Baskets in great shape
• Tight, heavily wooded and extremely challenging fairways
• Serious length when playing 'Gold' pins
• Loop back to the parking lot (between 7 & 8)
• Appears to be disc golf only area so minimal conflict with other park attendants

• Lacks variety: primarily wooded - no open or semi-open holes
• Water not in play
• Generally mild elevation changes
• Back 9 plays too similarly
• Gold color on top of long baskets not easy to see in the woods during summer - needs more prominent orange flags!
• Long walk back from 18 to parking by hole #1

Hole #1 is quite an opening hole - esthetically pleasing (see posted photos) and a fun one to play. However inviting this hole may be, it's deceptive; the rest of this course is quite punishing - but in a very good way (if you like long, narrow, heavily wooded, mentally challenging disc golf!). And if you don't, you can play to the silver pins and still experience some of the challenge but without the length and certain frustration.

I was delighted with how the course was maintained overall - the amount of time and effort put into it is obvious. No navigation issues, footing problems off the tee, problems with disc retrieval (even when off the fairway) and many other subtleties which provide mental comfort when tackling an intricate course such as this for the first time.

Some of the fairways are extremely narrow, are tough to consistently stay on and getting out of trouble off the fairway is a tough task. It'll be interesting to see how this course plays once the leaves are off the trees - although I imagine still extremely difficult & technical!

Even though listed as a 'con', I wasn't bothered by how wooded it was - very typical of the region. I was somewhat disappointed in how similar the back 9 played and the lack of significant elevation change. I was hoping for a 'wow' hole and never really got it. Nit-picking, yes but this course replaced TWO 18 hole courses and for that I was expecting a little more. But I love how the 18th hole on this course was previously hole #1 on one of the old courses. That made me smile big!

The dual baskets help such an otherwise outlandishly tough course to appeal to a wide audience of disc golfers. If I had played to the 'silver' baskets instead of the 'gold', pars would have been the order of the day with many birdie opportunities. That's not an indication of me being good or anything -they're just that short.

This course is impressive overall & was a joy to play. I'm familiar with heavily wooded PA courses and therefore it wasn't out of the ordinary. It's barely over an hour away from where I live so I'll definitely be playing it again. If you live in the greater region or are passing nearby, by all means, give it a play and write a review. But I wouldn't call this a 'destination course' you'd go completely out of your way for.

4 Discs!

There is everything to love about disc golf at this course. For example: there are silver (am) and gold (pro) baskets. The layout is awesome, i would know. Also, the course reflects so much pride, the tees are awesome pieces of art with rubber non slip pads, and gravel lining the tees. There are also rock stairs a nice touch. Great verity, hole 3 is 800ft+ and one hole (7) is about 150-. Very hilly, like on hole 2 your drive is up a steep slope to an elevated basket by rocks. Which brings me to my next pro, the basket positions are great. Many are elevated (2,4, and many more) Great use of the land. Every type of hole, strait and long, and short and sweet, doglegs. The silver and gold tees are superb!!!! There are so many pros to this course you can't count that high!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not anything comes to mind, but it is still not the greatest course on the face of this earth. The only con is that the course is not 100% finished which is why i rated it at a 4.5, instead of a 5.0. Maybe the navigation could be a little bit easier than it is at this stage of the course's completion.

This is where discovered disc golf 2 years ago! Recently remodeled only making the course better! Awesome pool located in the park. People with bad knees, stay away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Long, challenging holes, many very tightly wooded. If you're not a very accurate thrower, it isn't inconceivable to hammer-throw from 6-8 tees.

Early holes are definitely tougher than the later ones. #3 (only open fairway) and #4 are very long. (If you play the longer, gold tees, #3 is almost 900 feet!) Shorter holes later in the course require just as much accuracy.

Large bright yellow posts by the tees make it easy to pinpoint your next hole.

Not many cons, as long as you are good enough to throw down the tight fairways. Gold tees are a little too long and silver tees are a little too short, in my opinion.

The course can be a little difficult to find if you don't know where you should be looking, as French Creek is a very large park. Apparently there is an older course near the lake that has been taken down, but some of the signs are still there, so it can be a little confusing.

Be sure to stop at the office for a nice map/scorecard.

Also... how big is that parking lot??? DisneyWorld doesn't have any lots that huge!

This course is long and requires accuracy in each and every shot. There is a wide range of shots needed. There are two baskets on each hole, a silver and a gold. The silver baskets are much easier and would be good for newer players, especially if they are not used to heavily wooded courses (as this one most certainly is). The gold baskets are very tough and will test you on each throw from tee box to basket.

The bright yellow poles which serve as tee signs are quite easy to notice against all the brown and grey of the trees. They help tremendously in finding the next tee. Navigation is pretty easy aside from a couple of spots (see below), especially in the way that the club has lined the walkways and fairways with fallen trees and branches. This helps direct in what is literally a whole lot of trees.

Elevation comes into play, though not as dramatically as the first three holes lead you to believe. There are plenty of memorable holes - some you will remember because of their difficulty, some because of their level of fun. (Often, difficulty and fun walk a very fine line.) The rubber tee pads are in very good condition. Most are smooth, though some have humps in them. The club is very dedicated to working on this course and have put a lot of effort into it and will continue to do so, I am sure.

There is no freedom from the trees. While there is a lot of variety in the holes, there is no open hole. Hole #3 *could* be seen as an open hole, but chances are you will be in the trees on either side of the fairway at least once.

Despite the name, "French Creek," there is no water that comes into play. There are no scenic views, though the woods have their own beauty. Some of the fairways have brush and very small trees growing throughout them. There is always some form of litter on the course. I always end up pick up a plastic bottle or two when I go.

There are a couple of places where the course "jumps" to a different area of the park. Between #7 and #8 there is a steady walk up the hill along the road and around the bend to the #8 tee. Also, after #12, you walk down the hill by the basket and across the road to #13 tee. There are no signs directing these walks and can be confusing if you don't know where you are going. At this moment, there is no course map. The tee signs, while easy to see and give you distance to each of the pins, do not do a good job in each case of explaining how a hole is laid out. The poles are not wide enough to capture the doglegs on the holes and often give the wrong impression. Playing a round once through will help.

Though the "cons" section seems to be long, a lot of these are minor things, things I wish this course had. French Creek is a really good round of disc golf.

Here are some of my thoughts on individual holes: Hole #2 is a great shot uphill through a tight window to an open fairway. Hole #3 is the 888' foot behemoth that requires patience, shot/disc selection, and skill. Hole #8 is a very nice par 4 that has you thread the needle for the first shot and then turn a disc hard around to the right for the second. Hole #12 has a beautiful open green (some of the only grass on the course) that is very tough to reach in 2 shots. There are a couple of ace runs on the course, the easiest probably coming on hole #14. I have played this course several times since it opened and I look forward to seeing some of the "cons" above addressed in the future.

The new course ROCKS!! Gold & silver baskets on every hole now. Endless variations can be played. This course will challenge EVERYONE!! Most of the course is off the beaten path, so there is a lot less non player traffic then the old courses.

Sux in winter with the gates closed. It's a hike. The tee signs could be a little more accurate, but they aren't horrible.

Great new challenging course. Long, and one amazing, probable par 5. If you've played the other two courses at French Creek, this is more secluded and away from hikers, so less distractions and people walking on the course.

Hole markers are sometimes hard to determine where the hole is - not exactly where it shows on the markers.

I heard they are supposed to have this course finished by early summer 2009 with all holes marked, all silver and gold baskets in and probably maps (because if you don't have someone with you right now - February 2009 - that knows the course, you might not be able to find a couple baskets).

THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE PRO COURSE AT FRENCH CREEK.

Great layout. Extremely challenging and long. Very scenic as well. Great mix of Par 3s and 4s, and what could be classified as a 5.

Few of the tee boxes are missing signs. Sometime tough to know where to throw because the hole is so long and you can't see the basket. Could not find a map, and it is needed (for example, one of the holes on the back nine you start at old #2 tee box and play to the #3 pin).

The pro course baskets have Gold at the top of them. The Silver baskets are part of the old course (still up), and appears they will become the "short course" when finished. Recommendation is to play with someone who knows the layout. Once you play it one time, it is fairly easy to navigate a second time.