It's a fun, simple 9 hole course that you can BIKE TO FROM THE CITY. The baskets are in good shape and the grass has always been mowed. Has a bit of topography, some tree obstacles. It's simple but fun.

It's nothing special. No tee signs. Not particularly challenging.

As someone who lives in the city of Chicago (a bit north of Wrigelyville), going out to play is a pain. The only course in the city is pretty far south at IIT's campus and the only pro about it that is that it's in the city. That's it. The next closest nice course is about a 40 minute drive (50 Acre, Central Park, or Katherine Legge). After moving to Chicago, I realize how spoiled I was living in Cincinnati with Mt. Airy, Idlewild and many more right around the corner. With North Shore, I've found a decent course (that's 10+ times more enjoyable to play than IIT) that's a really nice and scenic 6.5 mile bike ride up the North Shore Channel Trail. It's nothing to write home about, but for anyone in the city on the northside who wants a bit of exercise or a shorter 20-25 minute drive, this place is a hidden gem.

Not many courses this close to the city.
Easy to find concrete pads, baskets in good shape.
Park had some nice artwork
Plenty of garbage cans.
Grass was mowed
Good use of the available space.

No tee signs
Course plays one way so a decent walk back to the parking lot
There was a lot of litter
Not much variety in the holes
No standout hole or memorable shots
Plays through a pretty crowded pathway and a major road

Hole 1- a straight 220 foot shot with no obstacles. Would have to really overpower a drive to have any real trouble. There's a thick bush right behind the basket to catch a missed putt so you can run it from anywhere.

Hole 2- 280 feet, play is right to left as there is trees on the left. No real danger, basket is unguarded.

Hole 3- 200 feet, another left to right to avoid the tree in center. A really bad shank left could be in the foliage which slopes sharply to the river below. Plays over the path so be cautious off the tee.

Hole 4- a short little 120 to a guarded basket. Can go around either side to get a look at birdie. Plays over the path again.

Hole 5- straight 200 foot shot. Only risk is a tragic early release. 5 feet from the path so watch for traffic.

Hole 6- open field 230 foot hole. Not much more to say.

Hole 7- 400 foot open field. There is a tree dead center 100 feet out but it should be an issue. Also some thin guardian trees at 300 feet. Plays close to Touhy and a grip lock can definitely get out to the road.

Hole 8- a 210 foot shot to a totally guarded basket. The brush and trees make a half circle 10 feet around the front of the basket. Surprisingly fun little hole

Hole 9- 230 feet with a few trees in the fairway to avoid. Not a difficult shot but requires some shaping.

I would give a 1.75 if possible. I went 2.0 due to the artwork and teepads. I think the designers did well with what they had.

Decent local 9 but wouldn't go out of my way to play again

Open course with minimal obstructions. Free parking on North end of course, just South of Touhy Ave. Mainly mid-range to putter course, and maybe a fairway for #7. Enjoyed that layout and the sculptures within the park.

No hole map near tee pad, 2 baskets are hidden behind brush. Course is laid out one way, so enjoy the walk back to parking lot. Walking path and traffic on McCormick, could spell issue(s) depending how good your tee shots are.

Better play early in morning to avoid traffic on walking path and noise from car traffic.

Everything is in good shape and it is very close to Chicago.

It is a straight line with little obstacles.
Very possible to throw disc onto a very busy street.

I lived about a mile and a half away from this course and choose on a regular basis to drive 20 minutes further and go to Glenview to have a fun round. This course is more geared towards practicing aiming rather than playing a competitive match.

- Great course for a beginner
- Not a ton of other options in the north-side/north shore area
- Would be great for an ace race

- Once you finish, you need to walk the entire course in reverse to get back to the start
- A couple more trees/foliage would help to break up the course
- Numbers on the baskets are a bit worn

This course wasn't nearly as dinky as I was expecting. Yes, holes are short. And foliage is light. But given the size of Chicago and what feels like a lack of courses in the city, I'm glad it exists. Also, the need to keep shots in control (canal on one side, busy road on the other) means that drives are a bit more challenging than the distances would indicate (I find myself not throwing 100%).

I wonder if anyone has considered turning this into an 18 hole out-and-back, double-dipping on the existing pins. It's a shame that when you finish you need to walk the entire course to get back to the start, it really feels like a missed opportunity.

Overall, happy to have this as an option and I'll definitely be back.

-- Nice, large cement tees
-- Good baskets that are in good shape
-- Course map at the beginning is quite nice
-- Location. The city of Chicago really needs more courses that are fairly easy to reach via public transport. I live in the city and don't own a car so I thought that a 45 min train and bus ride was worth it to check this course out (read below to see how I was wrong). This location is reachable by multiple CTA routes depending where in the city you are

-- This park is long and narrow and the course goes in just one direction. Aside from the inconvenience of starting and stopping at two ends of the park, there is a very busy road on your right the entire time. With the park being so narrow, the possibility of an errant shot going into the road is very real. This seemed very dangerous and I was nervous throwing on several holes. This was compounded for me as a LHBH thrower by a strong tailwind. I was afraid to actually throw hard on the one long hole (450ft) because a slight mistake and the tailwind is taking my disc into a very busy road.
-- Wide open. There is very very little in terms of obstacles on most holes. Two holes are tucked behind thick bushes and trees, but are tucked in so close in such a location that there is no line to the basket (you can't even see the basket). Everything else is just a tee, a field, and a basket straight ahead. A 125 ft hole where you can't see the basket and there is no ace run possibility isn't much fun when the only shot is to go straight and long of a bush just so you can putt back to the basket that is tucked into said bush.
-- Very short. When combined with being wide open, there is no challenge or anything interesting being offered here.
-- Walking and biking path close by many holes. On a busy summer day, I can see a lot of potential of hitting someone walking or biking
-- It was very windy when I played, and given the fact that the long park and parallel street basically create a wind corridor, I feel like the wind is likely exaggerated here most days

At the time of this review I have played 140+ courses and can easily say I can't remember another one I disliked more than this course. A lot of this is due to the very real and dangerous road hazard along the entire park. I honestly didn't enjoy myself at all during most of the round (and I obviously LOVE playing this game) due to the road and pedestrian hazards in the back of my head. I have never played a course before that I just couldn't wait to finish and leave.

While I am all for more courses and especially more courses in Chicago, I feel this course almost shouldn't be there. The risk of hitting a person or car traveling 45 mph is just too high and such incidents would not help the reputation of our sport to the general public.

This is the closest course to my house. Actually close enough that I can play it quickly on my own during lunch if I work from home. I have also devised (what I consider challenging) a full 18 layout for this course. As stated in other reviews, it is a one way course. I have made a new course guide with updated rules and pictures so players can use this to get more out of this small course.

Recently, for whatever reason, they removed quite a few of the trees. this includes the tunnel shot that was hole 5. Now its just wide open. Sometimes the bike/walking path is very busy and its important to be mindful of the others using the park. Also McCormick running the length of the course bothers some. It's not that bad if you select the correct disc and are mindful of the wind.

Course guide OB/strict hole rules coming soon for my full 18 layout.

- North Shore Channel Trail DGC is located on a well-groomed narrow strip of park located between the namesake water channel to the left and a busy roadway to the right. The nine holes play through mostly open grassy areas dotted with the occasional tree, bush, or art sculpture.
- Baskets, tees, and general signage is sufficient enough. The tee pads are, like the majority of Chicago 9ers, ridiculously good for the short lengths. While no signage exists at each hole, the tee pads are all pretty much immediately visible and the flow is smooth enough to not really need signage. The course map at the beginning is really all one would need.
- Well placed pin positions help keep this course from being completely one dimensional. #1's basket has a pine bush backdrop that makes anything long and to the left a bit of a hassle to recover from. Bushes line the left of several fairways, preventing everything but the most unlucky or terrible shot from reaching the downward slope to the water, but also offering enough punishment for such a shot.
- #5 is a nice tunnel shot between a row of tree trunks, with a low ceiling provided by the leaves.
- The holes are open and short enough to be reachable by beginners, or suitable for a putter only round.
- #7 allows more experienced players to air it out a bit, clocking in well over 400 ft.

- This is a multi-use course all the way: expect to have to yield to pedestrians and bikers regularly throughout each round. The narrow nature of the park really accentuates the interweaving of course and pathways. Since the road is to the right, there's less chance of discs noob hyzering into the street, but I can still imagine the occasional turnover shot not coming back and getting blasted by traffic.
- #'s 4 and 8's baskets are placed blind behind bushes, with the next tee about 30' further. Dangerous as neither the people playing to the basket nor the people on the next tee can see each other.
- Despite the attempt to mix up the hole lengths, overall the course plays very short and will not provide much of challenge to more experienced players (excepting perhaps one disc rounds).
- The course does not play in a loop, leaving you the entire length of the course to walk back to the car. See comments below re: safari.

- This is a pleasant enough park, with flowers, well-trimmed bushes, regularly mowed grass, a pretty smattering of trees, and the sculptures that pop up along (and in) the fairways. The main problem is the lack of a true challenge, any sort of real elevation change, and the masses of bikers and walkers.
- Definitely nothing to avoid if you're nearby, but not something to go out of your way for; the course is sufficiently designed to "scratch the itch" but it's not going to wow anyone.
- The potential to safari from 9 back to the parking lot is a possibility, but with anyone else on the course it might not be advisable.

Short mostly open holes, with hole 5 the signature hole - through a 220' foot tree tunnel. A 900 rated player -- I regularly shoot 3 or 4 under. The tees are excellent, and some holes are nicely tucked away behind protection by bushes and trees. The length keeps this course fine for beginners, but the proximity to a busy street requires accurate throws that beginners will find intimidating.

Many of the fairways and natural lines cross running and bike paths that can be busy. There are even park benches within 20 feet of some holes! These hazards make the course inappropriate for casual players. Experienced players need to yield to other park users, but will have no trouble avoiding obstacles. The left side of the course are heavy woods protecting a canal, and the right side is a busy highway with no barrier. I have more than once left my disk in the middle of highway on a windy day, narrowly missing passing cars. And, once a truck dragged and bumped my disk an extra 100 feet and back on the fairway! Nice.

The signature hole is now gone and lame. All the trees that made the tunnel are cut down. So now it is just a 200 foot nothing hole... Ugh

The course can be played in reverse with a nice variation and a tougher collection of 9 holes. This makes a nice 18 hole loop. Bottom line is that the course is a great plus for Chicago, and I enjoy playing it -- so I give it 2.5.

- Nice Concrete tees & New Baskets

- Free Parking north of course

- OK mid-range/putt practice

- Well manicured, easy to follow

- Fairly close to City

- Dangerous for beginners. VERY close to busy 4 lane

- No Tee markers with hole info

- 1 direction course, which means LONG walk back

- A couple baskets are just plopped right behind huge bushes, and with no tee signs with info, hard to tell where they are unless you walk to find it

- A beginner course, no doubt, that lacks any dimension at all. Most holes are short (one is even 90'..par 2?) and a mid-range (or even putter) can be used on all holes for the experienced player. Be careful using a driver as I had my XL turn on me and land in the median of McCormick (which I played obviously)

- Hole 5 is the coolest hole, but only because of the placement of the trees, and not the actual hole layout. (It's directly straight from tee to basket)

- Might play it again if up in the area, but IIT is a tad better IMO.

The biggest pro is that it's a disc golf course in the city, which Chicago is in desperate need of more for people like me who want to practice without having to make a trek each time. I do realize this is a very small course with it's pitfalls but I feel it at least deserves a 1.5 out of 5 (passable) for the fact it is an easily accessible course within Chicago to play and improve at. As cramped as the course is, the premises are kept pristine and the equipment is kept in top shape. It's a very nice course and very fun to play around although a bit simplistic and minuscule in design.

There is no denying that it's a bit too small. It's also a bit dangerous for new players like me. If you release too far to the right at any given point, your disc is more than likely going to get ran over by a car going at 45 miles an hour due to the side road. A blessing and a curse, this is teaching me quickly how to throw straighter and figure out my technique.

Also the course going in one direction does lead to a long walk back but at least it's a pretty stroll.

I am glad to have the course around so that I can practice my game but here's hoping that Chicago can get a bigger and better one in the future. They could have easily put a few more baskets in going backwards to make it a full course and eliminate that long walk back.

Second Update: I have now played this course many a time and I am starting to see why it's lowly rated. After so many long walks back and having to worry about the safety of my discs, I am going to have to lower it down to a 1.5.

Holes are pretty straight forward as the land is flat.

Great place to practice RHBH hyzer lines of varying lengths between 90'-400'.

Plays within a sculpture park.

Couple of trash cans near teepads.

Large concrete teepads. New Innova discatchers. Newly paved parking lot. Well maintained park and grass.

It's 9 holes going one way.

The holes aren't very challenging for the competitive disc golfer.

If you're not careful or inexperienced your discs may fly towards McCormick Blvd or the Chicago River.

Check for pedestrians, roller bladers and bicyclists along the path.

Having grown up in the Rogers Park area of Chicago I never knew disc golf even existed. After moving to LA and picking up the activity I'm pleasantly surprised to come back and see a course pop up close to the old neighborhood. This is a newly installed course as of Aug 2012.

I only brought one disc on my trip here but it was really great to get out and toss the disc and get some fresh air and exercise. Not a destination course but I had a blast playing here and trying my hardest to (unsuccessfully) birdie every hole.

Nice new innova discatchers with great concrete tees. The tree tunnel on hole 5 is cool although the hole is rather short. Hole 7 plays over 400 feet and is the closest hole to the road so be careful.

This course plays south between the trail and the road. Once you finish hole 9 you must walk or play all the way back towards the beginning if you parked at Dominick's across from hole 1. This course is short and open. Playing next to the road is an accident waiting to happen. This is an awful design.

Be very wary of the other park users while playing. Park at Dominick's across from hole 1.

The course plays through the sculpture park between McCormick and the river. There are nice concrete tees and brand new discatchers. The park is beautifully maintained, with mowed grass and no trash. The hole lengths have some variety, with a 90' hole and one over 300'. Hole 5 plays between two rows of trees offering a cool tunnel shot with a low ceiling.

The course is wide open for 8 of the 9 holes. There are RHBH hyzer lines on just about every hole, and LHBH hyzers on most. You don't need any line shaping skills to be successful here, nor do you need much distance. The course plays along and over a busy path, with lots of walkers, joggers and bikers and a few blind shots. This could be a major safety issue on a nice day. About half the holes play close enough to a major 40mph road, with nothing stopping errant drives from ending up in traffic. The course plays in one direction away from the first tee, leaving a ridiculous walk back to the beginning and making it so every hole has the same wind condition.

Beginners will find this to be an approachable course, with reasonable distances, limited obstacles and almost no punishment for errant shots. More experienced players won't find much challenge or variety here, and the conflicts with other park users can add frustrating time waiting. I played the course backward to get back to the beginning, but that only works if there aren't other groups playing.

New baskets with nice big concrete tees is a great start for a new course, but it's downhill from there.

The first 5 holes range from decent to good with some obstacles and moderate challenge. The alley shot on 5 is really cool, but quite difficult and frustrating.

The course is in a pretty park.

I didn't factor this into my score because the park isn't finished (parking lot barely under construction) so I hope tee signs are coming, but for now they aren't there.

The biggest problem with this course is having flight paths running parallel to McCormick Blvd., a constantly busy four-lane road. On hole 6 a lefty backhand player like myself can effortlessly throw a shot into the street with moderate wind, which is what I dealt with when playing. I avoided the street, but beginners will find the street daily. The back 4 holes all have a chance of a stray shot going into the street.

The bikers/walkers are also a factor, though bikers were more prevalent when I played and they're at least fast.

The set up of the park forces a one-directional layout, which means a long walk back to the start. As a result multiple groups played some of the holes backwards to get back to the start. Some of the holes play better this way, but if the course gets busier this could have multiple groups playing the same basket from opposite directions.

This area needs more and better courses, but this simply isn't good enough. I wouldn't be willing to take a couple of my beginner/intermediate friends for fear of them tossing one in the street. Walkers/bikers are easy to avoid if you pay attention, but it's only a matter of time until a disc hits a car and causes an accident. I saw a disc go into the street while playing and I'm sure it happens all the time. Eventually that will cause someone to swerve and force an accident.

I believe the course's problems could be remedied if some of the holes were shorter to make it a truly beginner friendly course. There's already a 90 foot hole on the course and the first 5 holes really don't need to be changed. However, replacing the slightly longer 6-9 that bring the street into play with shorter, more technical shots would drastically improve safety.

I had a group come up to me asking where they can buy golf discs so having a course in this area will expose disc golf to new players, which is always great, but it needs to be done better.

This is a brand new course that is located near Chicago. Chicago lacks courses so it's much needed. Park across the street at Dominick's. The first tee is near the corner of Northeast Parkway. If you cross the street at the light you can't miss the first tee. It's very flat and mostly open with a few scattered trees. Several holes have very thick rough to the left of the basket. There are tons of art on display. A trails runs the entire length of the park.

Brand new Innova Discatcher baskets.

Very nice concrete tee pads.

This course is going to expose tons of people to disc golf. It's in a highly populated area.

Hole #5 is a nice hole. 2 rows of trees and a tunnel to throw down.

Navigation is a breeze since you are playing south the entire round.

No tee signs.

The baskets do not have the number on them.

There are a lot of pedestrians using the trail. Be prepared to wait until they clear. The trail could use some signs near the path alerting users they are entering a disc golf area.

The road could come into play. Hole #7 is a prime candidate. It's the longest hole and I can see people ranking them into the busy 4 lane road especially with a head wind or left to right.

Hole #9 is a super long walk back to #1.

You play south the entire round. You are going to be throwing into the same wind every hole. There is only 1 hole that you have to throw a straight shot. You can throw a RHBH hyzer on every shot.

I would really like to see them install another set of tees so you can play it on the way back. It would be really unique. It's such a long narrow park we played our own holes back.

There is nothing in the vicinity and the area is sorely lacking a disc golf course. The Sculptures and the park are lovely. The Tee pads are excellent and the baskets are new DiscCatchers.Although the planners likely did not anticipate this the reverse path back to hole 1, as mentioned by Jason and Damon, provides a fun safari route. The deuce or die holes are reasonably fun to play.

I agree with Jason and Damon. This is a dangerous course. Experienced players will watch and wait before they tee off but can still hit somebody with an errant shot. A chucker is bound to hit somebody on the path or a car on the road.

This area is starved for a course. I am reluctant to post a negative review as I still want a course, even this one, available less than three miles from home.

Concrete teepads, and an easy drive for Northside/North Suburban disc golfers. (Technically it's not in Chicago, so we still only have IIT in the City.) Decent introductory course for beginners (I got several inquiries while playing the course.)

There's not much room here to make it more than deuce-or-die for nearly every hole, but beyond that, I'm afraid this course is a serious accident waiting to happen. While it's nice to have any kind of course this close to me, the Village powers evidently got bad advice or none at all regarding installation of this course. The walking/biking path is very busy when the weather is nice. Also, on a couple of holes you're throwing alongside or even semi-directly TOWARDS a busy 4-lane road (#8). They must have assumed that people would be playing with 'lids' or something. A 'real golf disc' is going to wreak havoc at some point.*** UPDATE 5/30/16: The ash borer (aka the Donald Drumpf of insects) has wreaked havoc on the most interesting holes. The trees on #3 disappeared over a year ago, and sometime in May 2016 the entire corridor of trees on #5 (a fairly tough tunnel) shot disappeared. NEW UPDATE 6/16/16: In a conversation with a local, I was told that there was nothing wrong with those trees - that they were just removed by the village to 'improve the course!' If true - and the trees looked perfectly healthy to me - it just reinforces the idea that nobody knew what they were doing to begin with.

A few trees/shrubs come into play on a few holes, but only #5 is particularly interesting. It's more fun to play the course backwards - the course runs 'vertically' along McCormick anyhow so you may as well play your way back. (Also feels like the main path is less in play for RHBH when playing in reverse.) A parking lot is going in near hole #1.

You could say that having a course here is better than not having a course at all. In that regard, I'll reiterate JasonC's sentiment to PLEASE BE CAREFUL with drives on this course so we don't lose what's there!

Located on the southern end of the Skokie/Lincolnwood Sculpture Park and North Shore Channel Trail, this course is in a very convenient area for anyone that lives on the north side of Chicago, which is essentially a dead zone of disc golf courses.

-As a brand new course, the Innova DISCatchers are very nice.

-The new concrete teepads are very generous at approximately 6' x 10' each.

-Easy to navigate, even on the 2 blind holes.

-The bike/walking path should be used as OB on each hole for safety as well as an additional feature that adds difficulty in a relatively short course.

-#5 is the signature hole here. While only 225', it forces you to throw straight at the bucket with lines of trees along each side of the fairway approximately 15' apart.

-7 of 9 holes here should be considered ace runs by most players.

-This is a very busy park. On any day with decent weather, the bike/walking path will see heavy traffic. Please be aware of other park users and yield to them as needed.

-On a windy day, beginners will find it very easy to land some discs in the middle of McCormick Blvd.

-There are no tee signs or a map, although navigation is easy.

-The course starts at McCormick and Northeast and plays south along McCormick down to Devon Ave. It is a long walk back to the parking lot. You may want to play some safari holes long the way back to your car.

Pros and Advanced level players will not find any challenge unless they are looking to record more aces. Beginners and rec level players should also score well here, assuming they can keep their discs out of the road and away from other park users.

I don't know if the Village of Lincolnwood has any future plans to expand to 18 holes or make any other improvements. The park appears to be unfinished as of August, 2012. However, signs on each teepad would be a welcome addition here.

I'm not sure I can say this enough, so PLEASE be aware of other park users and yield to them as needed. The extra 20-30 seconds needed for a clear fairway is well worth the wait to avoid accidents. Let's keep this course in the ground for years to come!