- very well manicured park in great shape
- Innova DISCatcher baskets with visible light blue rims in good shape
- full color tee signs at both sets of tees with maps
- dual turf tee pads are mostly color coded based on tee, and generally flat/level
- general park amenities including real bathrooms, garbage cans, benches, picnic tables, and for the disc golfers, a practice basket
- varied lengths between red and white tees
- excellent, straightfoward navigation with lots of next tee signs
- good incorporation of water hazards
- some decent elevation change worked in on many holes
- good built-in bridges/walkways over creeks and steps on steep slopes
- some moderate challenge with mature tree obstacles

- multi-use park means there are some major safety hazards, particularly with walking paths and somewhat clueless pedestrians
- some may consider red tees too short/easy
- turf tee pads are just ok and could get wet/slippery
- park can get VERY busy during sporting events and overflow parking blocks practice basket
- some areas with heavy rough that can eat discs

Valley Park is a different kind of multi-use park course than I am used to. In the Chicago area, most of these are 9 holes, and they are exceptionally flat and mostly very open. Valley Park may have nothing on some of the more intense terrain in Pennsylvania/West Virginia (Moraine, Deer Lakes, Whippin' Post, etc.) but it sure has some varied terrain for a city park course. Holes are mostly moderately wooded and still pretty open, but mature trees present some obstacles and force shot shaping. There are a number of wide open holes, some with longer distances, though on the red tees I played this course is pretty short overall.

I played on a Saturday, and it was a very busy Saturday with baseball tournaments, etc. going on. I parked in the grass like dozens of other people and the practice basket was fully surrounded by cars. There were all sorts of pedestrian hazards - on walking paths, walking through the middle of the course, taking NEWBORN PHOTOS in the middle of the course - that's a first for me! Thankfully, I didn't hit anyone (including children), but there were an insane number of unaware people dawdling around the course. I'd recommend trying to play on weekdays or if you must come on a Saturday, perhaps early morning.

There are two tees per hole and while the turf is just ok, it's plenty serviceable. A lot of the holes, particularly on the red tees, are quite short, and in the middle of the course do a fair amount of back and forth playing a bit close to each other, but nothing too bad, and nothing near the walking path hazards.

This course has some technical challenge but is really one of the more fun, casual 18 hole rounds you will play while not getting bored. As another reviewer pointed out, the pro tip is that you can access the course from the I-64 rest stop if you want to for whatever reason - kind of funny, and if you overthrow your shot on hole 6, you could throw right into the rest stop parking lot. There's no fence or anything.

For me, this course was cool and enjoyable, but seems a bit higher rated than I'd expect. I'd say this is on the low end of 3.5 for me, but is definitely superior to some of the 3s I have rated. This is also one of the only courses I've ever compared to Idlewild in any way - the water play on hole 12 crisscrossing the creek reminded me of one of the world's best courses. Admittedly, Valley Park has one hole like this - Idlewild probably has more like 6.

Additional water hazards were incorporated with 2 lakes, one on hole 1, and one on the later holes of the course. These add some challenge and the water carry on hole 1 is not trivial, you'll need some power and accuracy.

Holes 13, 15, and 18 in particular threw directly over walking paths and I don't love the safety hazard it introduced. Some people will also cut from one walking path to another, taking the steps up the hill of the 13 fairway and essentially walking the whole hole while you are trying to play - we have to share the park, of course, but some of these holes could have been designed to avoid interference or safety issues. On 15, you throw around a corner and can have a blind landing in the walking path area which is perhaps the largest offender. The mando on 18 also forces a throw closer to the walking path.

Overall, you can see my big gripes here are largely "safety". It's hard to find many other issues with the course. It has some technical challenge, but isn't particularly difficult - come here expecting a fun, laid back round and you won't be disappointed. It has good elevation change, but in this part of the country, I'd hesitate to call it great. If you can come when the park isn't too busy, it's definitely worth your time, and as the rest stop indicates - is very close to the Interstate if you are on the road like I was. Plus, who doesn't want to stop in Hurricane, WV? Between that and my stop in Accident, MD, my trip is complete!