Huckleberry Disc Golf Course, also known as Done Crane Disc Golf Course according to the course map on site, is a recreational 18-hole course just outside of the heart of Hannibal, Missouri. This course snakes around otherwise little used parts of Huckleberry Park and is a good option for newer players to the game.

Location of Huckleberry is convenient, being just off a major arterial roadway in Highway 61, as well having access to Market Street, a road that leads to the town center. Interstate 72 is also just a couple minutes away, making this course straightforward to find. Highway 61 has a wide selection of restaurants, gas stations, and stores for disc golfers who need anything before or after their round. Just be careful of your speed in Hannibal; I've heard plenty of stories about how the police in town are bigger sticklers than usual for the speed limits. Between Hannibal and Quincy, Illinois, there are a few courses to choose from if you're wanting to make a day out of disc golf. There are six 18-hole courses within about a half hour of each other, including a couple up Highway 61, two in Quincy, and one in Barry down Interstate 72.

Park amenities at Huckleberry Park are nice overall, and the disc golf course snakes around most of them. There are 2 reservable shelters in the park, as well as bathrooms near the main one. There's a softball field not far from the parking lot, as well as four tennis courts that include pickleball nets as an option. There're also basketball hoops and plenty of benches and tables around the park. Next to hole 5, you'll find a skate park with concrete ramps, a nice touch that I wasn't expecting to find in Hannibal. There's also a great playground and learning trail for younger park goers.

Course equipment at Huckleberry checks most of the boxes the average disc golfer would be looking for. There's a practice basket and course map next to the parking lot, providing enough space to get some good putting practice in. The course uses DISCatcher baskets that looked older but are still in fine shape. The tee signs all have distances and pars for up to 3 tees and 1 to 3 pins per hole, depending on how many of each each hole has. The tee signs also include overhead maps that show OB as well as other information like the direction to the next tee and doglegs when applicable. The tees that I did find were concrete, and while some felt a little short, they're all pretty level with the ground for those that you might want more of a run up to. Pars on the tee signs are separated into novice and intermediate, which is fair given the difficulty of this course.

Course design at Huckleberry is mostly short holes that vary in terms of elevation and how each fairway turns. This results in a course that will not feel long to newer players, but will also challenge their accuracy and ability to throw different shot shapes. The course length plays between 5,000 and 5330-ish feet depending on what tees you use, so your arm shouldn't be too worn out after a round.

Variety is decent here in terms of what shots you will need for a good round. Plenty of holes play straight on from the tee but with different elevations in play. Holes 12 and 13, for instance, are straight and uphill, while 6 and 14 play more downhill. Some holes like 1 and 10 require sharp turns to the left, while 3, 8, and 9 have fairways that favor right turning shots off the tee. Holes 1 and 3 have water in play with the nearby pond, which adds a level of risk to consider when approaching 1 or teeing off of 3. Plenty of holes also play near roads and parking lots, which add OB to consider on several throws during a round. Plenty of holes can be ran for aces on the course as well, which can tempt players to juice a throw as well. This can come with minimal risk like on hole 5, or with some extra risk like on hole 4 which is near some walkways and has plenty of trees in the fairway, or hole 12 which has its pin on a hillside.

Course design at Huckleberry does the most with the land available, and some holes make it clear that 18 holes barely fit in this plot of land. Hole 10 was given a dogleg around a powerline pole in an open field to add some difficulty and variety to the course, but it comes off as gimmicky. I could also see plenty of folks spiking this shot, and while I'm sure the power line is secure, something about using this kind of obstacle feels off to me. Other holes like 4 and 12 feel like they are lacking too. Hole 4 has enough pathways and trees in the fairway to make it feel like a less than ideal area to throw through, and hole 12 almost feels overly simple given the lack of obstacles and how short the hole is.

Course Equipment at Huckleberry could use an overhaul. Some of the signage is outdated, with some of the overhead shots not matching how the park looks today. Hole 1, for instance, plays through a gap down a hill to an opening next to the lake, but the picture on the sign does not show this small gap, which could lead players to do like I did and throw more straight instead of a placement shot that's needed here. I also did not see many of the longer tees on the course; they might still be there, but by the time you get to the tee sign for the hole, you're likely past the longer tee. Other tee options are easy to find, like on hole 6. Some of the tee pads are also showing their age. Some of the tee pads felt pretty sketchy to run up on with the light rain that was falling during my round here, and others have some larger cracks forming. The course is far from unplayable, but some refurbishment would go a long way.

Safety and interference with other park uses will be noticed by many disc golfers during their round. At least half of the fairways on this course play either near another park function or near the street that goes through the park. While it's easy to see if cars are coming on most of these holes, it still comes into play more than is ideal, so make sure you look both ways before throwing. The long tee on hole 6 also crosses a street, and a griplock could theoretically hit the fire station. Hole 4, as stated before, plays around enough obstacles and walkways that it has the feeling of being shoehorned into the course design. Hole 11 plays near the softball field outfield fence but doesn't seem to come into play. That being said, a disc that is shanked could absolutely jump the fence, so be careful if a game is happening during your round.

Mud and footing was noticeably bad during my round. It was a wet day, but it looks to me like this is a course where the hillsides could stay wet and hard to get a grip on long after rain stops. The grass looked recently cut, and there were a lot of track marks from the lawnmower used that resulted in plenty of muddy tracks and areas with no grass. This resulted in plenty of muddy spots in areas that would typically just be grassy. It's nice to see that this park is taken care of, but it may not be fun to play for a fair amount of time after a good storm. Hole 1 especially felt treacherous, as the pin is down a hill with that same hill being the way to the next hole. This hill was purely mud, and if it was any wetter out, this would have been a challenge to walk up without getting muddy.

Navigation can be confusing at Huckleberry. I ended up throwing with the wrong basket in mind on two different occasions because it wasn't clear where to throw to. From hole 2's tee pad, hole 2's pin was not visible but hole 4 looked to be where hole 2 should have been. I did the same thing on hole 7, as hole 8 was visible and looked in line with what the tee sign said, but hole 7 ended up being to the left behind the tree line. If you don't have Udisc or a picture of the park map handy, some of the holes will be hard to find. Hole 2 is not close to hole 1's pin, as hole 1 in general feels disconnected from the rest of the course and requires a bit of a way to get to from the parking lot. Hole 5's location is also less than obvious despite an arrow on hole 4's tee sign. Plenty of other holes play close enough together in the back 9 that things could easily get a little confusing. Hole 12 is a decent hike from 11, with hole 16's pin being along the way. Hole 13 is also a decent hike from 12, and you need to walk back up 16's fairway to get to 17. I'm not sure what layout would work better with the land available but given how simple and short some of the holes are, a more straightforward layout has to be possible without sacrificing the current course quality. I believe you shouldn't need Udisc to navigate a good course layout, and that's the case in some spots at Huckleberry.

Course difficulty here favors the newer players to the game. This isn't a bad thing, per say; we need accessible golf courses for fresh players as much as we need elite destination courses. That being said, if you are intermediate or above, you will likely find yourself bored of this course with little desire to replay it.

Overall, Huckleberry Disc Golf Course will provide a decent amount of challenge and variety for newer players and is worth a stop if you're passing by on highway 61. The course generally is easy to play quickly, and I was able to knock all 18 holes out in about an hour. While many disc golfers may find themselves looking for something more challenging before long, Huckleberry contributes well to what is a decent selection of courses in this area between Hannibal and Quincy. If you're driving through Mark Twain's hometown, it's worth stopping if you're trying to bag courses.

The park is very well maintained - grass was cut - tee signs were readable (although not always clear), tee boxes and baskets were all in good shape

The scenery is beautiful - trees, rolling hills, etc.

There are multiple tees and pin positions available on each hole. Also each sign has a "Rec" and an "Intermediate" par for each of these.

The course is quite difficult to navigate. While there are multiple pins on each hole, the sign does not indicate which position the pin is in. Also, it was often difficult to figure out which tee was the one next to the sign and it seemed many of the alternate tees were either missing or tough to find. As such, it was tough to tell if we were playing the correct par (which changes depending on the pin position and the tee you choose to throw from). A fairly busy street is in play on multiple holes (at least 1 where you had to throw over it). We had to wait several minutes for the street to clear before we could safely throw. Navigation was far from a nightmare, since we had access to the course map, but hole 1 is a long way from the parking lot and many of the holes cross. As I walked back and forth across the fairway, I couldn't help but think the flow could have been given a bit more thought.

The course itself is... fine. I initially thought it was weird that the options for par were only rec and intermediate (usually there would be a pro or advanced option). However, after playing the course I understand why. Even from the hardest tee to the hardest pin locations, this course would never really challenge any advanced disc golfer. I am a high level intermediate or a low level advanced player (depending on the day and who you ask) and I shot a bogey-free -10 my first time playing the course even with 20+mph winds. The only holes I thought were challenging were because of their "gimmicky" nature. One hole played as a dogleg right through trees - a big hyzer over the top was available but mandoed off and there was no reasonable line to get the basket for a birdie - not enough height for a forehand or turnover to get right and the grass was too long for a skip shot. Another hole was basically in the middle of a field except for an added mando on a pole forcing a huge hyzer (with at least 100 feet carry back to the left). We had a left to right wind which made that literally impossible.

My dad and I played this course in the middle of a long road trip. The course was serviceable, we could get out of the car and play for an hour and it wasn't just a pitch and putt. I suppose the course is pretty decent for what it is - a small course set up in a small park in a small town, which probably doesn't get many pro or high-level golfers. It was fun to play once, but since it was tough to navigate and wasn't challenging, I can't see myself going back to play it again.