Northeast states

[atl scott]

I've played in 37 states and am missing most of the northeast. I'm planning a camping road trip and for once don't know where to begin.

I'd like to hit 8 states (see attached): Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. I'm guessing I can hit 2-3 states each day with some planning. I'll be embarking from Charlotte, NC.

1. What courses are can't miss?
2. What is the best route to drive?
3. What time of year is ideal?
4. Anything else along the way in the great northeast I should take the time to see? Any courses in states I've already played that I should try to hit while I'm in the area?

 

[Monocacy]

1. Delaware: Iron Hill. New Jersey: Stafford Woods. Massachusetts: Maple Hill and Borderlands.
2. You are probably stuck with I-95 and the Jersey Turnpike until you hit New England. During rush hour avoid big cities like the plague.
3. Fall in the northeast is wonderful. Avoid orange discs.
4. I would suggest hitting Patapsco Valley State Park on your way. Strongly suggest a quick short-short round to scout out the long baskets (none of which are visible from the tee), and then play the "Green Monster" (long-long). Also consider the wealth of courses around Philly - Tyler State Park is not too far off I-95.

There are some amazing courses in New England that I would love to play. Have fun!

 

[atl scott]

Great tips. Iron Hill and Maple Hill are the 2 that were on my radar but good to hear the confirmation. Do I need a local for Iron Hill?

I am thinking the first part of September maybe. Catch the weather cooling down if I'm lucky.

 

[GripEnemy]

You don't need a local for playing Iron Hill (even gold to gold), but you will want one if you want to try to shoot a great round first try. As a southeast PA local I tell my friends newer to DG to play short to short first and get a chance to walk the course before truly playing it gold/gold. Often that's because they're simply intermediate or worse skill wise, but even for 1000 rated players without knowing the correct landing zones you simply won't perform the way you'd like to. Shoulda, woulda, coulda, kinda thing will go through your head.*

Take that for what you will...the fairways are clear, signs are informative, paths between holes are noticeable, etc.

depends what you want to get out of Iron Hill and the amount of time you have to dedicate to it!




*I often compare rally driving courses [turns] to disc golf fairways. If you or anyone else is familiar, sometimes the tee sign will show an L4 when really it's an L6, or vice versa. Some times you see a left 3 long but really its a left 4 or left 2 long into left 3 or something...I digress. If you're unfamiliar the copilot in the car instructs the driver on unknown roads using a 1-6 number system. 1 is the tightest, 6 would be a gentle angle of foward motion.

Occasionally on holes here you simply can't be aware of what is out of sight regardless of the signs, like many other courses. if you're just having a good time by all means play whichever layout however you want, but if you're trying to go for the gold/gold record of your lifetime it's unachievable without at least a minimum of one practice round.

EDIT: when you're passing through the Deleware to NY/NJ section I'd love to throw with you!

 

[swatso]

best of 8 northeast States

"Delaware, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine"

Search by State, sort by Rating:
Delaware - Iron Hill the clear winner. I've played it, and concur.
New Jersey - Stafford, with Greystone, Woods not for behind. I've played neither.
Connecticut - Wickham, then Cranbury, Park. I played and enjoyed Wickham.
Rhode Island - Willow Valley. Only Ninigret existed when I played in R.I..
Massachusetts - Maple Hill leads a list of strong candidates, including just a disc's throw away Pyramids. I really liked both.
Vermont - the people say Smugglers Notch. And while I like it, I don't think it is quite the borderline top-25 in the world that its rating says it is.
New Hampshire - Whie the people say Salmon Falls, which does have some shining moments, I preferred Otter Brook.
Maine - there are a lot of great options, but Sabattus is where you need to go. I also liked Woodland Valley, and many others, too.


mid-September - mid-October would be a good window to play.

Northern Virginia and central Maryland have plenty of choice offerings as you make your way through.

 

[atl scott]

You don't need a local for playing Iron Hill ... depends what you want to get out of Iron Hill and the amount of time you have to dedicate to it!

Perfect. I'm not planning on setting any records on any of the courses, more just getting the experiences and having fun. Maybe I'll play 1 or 2 a second time on the way back south?

EDIT: when you're passing through the Deleware to NY/NJ section I'd love to throw with you!

I'll keep you in mind when I'm finally able to get plans finalized.

 

[JC17393]

Rather than offer further recommendations, I just want to point out that the "tour" will be in the northeast in late August and early September. Maple Hill, Greater Hartford Open, Worlds, Delaware Disc Golf Challenge...four weekends in a row, all played on courses that have been mentioned already as highlight stops for your trip. I don't say it to discourage you, but to say that all of those courses are apt to be in prime shape for those events and thus you'd be hitting them all at the perfect time. Just be aware of when each one is in relation to when you make the trip.

 

[jimimc]

If you need a tour around Iron Hill let me know. I can also let you know about the best times to play in or avoid tournaments etc.

 

[discNDav]

1. Delaware: Iron Hill. New Jersey: Stafford Woods. Massachusetts: Maple Hill and Borderlands.

The above is correct plus I'd add Warwick in NY and Wickham in CT (which is literally 1 minute from I-84).

 

[discNDav]

Smugglers in VT is out of the way but worth it, I'd put it in my top 10.

 

[atl scott]

New Jersey - Stafford, with Greystone, Woods not for behind. I've played neither.
Connecticut - Wickham, then Cranbury, Park. I played and enjoyed Wickham.
Rhode Island - Willow Valley. Only Ninigret existed when I played in R.I..
Vermont - the people say Smugglers Notch. And while I like it, I don't think it is quite the borderline top-25 in the world that its rating says it is.
New Hampshire - Whie the people say Salmon Falls, which does have some shining moments, I preferred Otter Brook.
Maine - there are a lot of great options, but Sabattus is where you need to go. I also liked Woodland Valley, and many others, too.

mid-September - mid-October would be a good window to play.

Great info here, thanks!

Northern Virginia and central Maryland have plenty of choice offerings as you make your way through.

Depending on how much time I end up with there will probably be a camping night at the Blockhouse. I still haven't played Hawk Hollow, although somehow I have an ace there.

 

[d11rok]

You say you're on a camping road trip...in center-west NH there's Storr's Pond, which besides having a great DGC, has camping available on site ( you actually have to walk through the campground to get from the front to back nine)

 

[ILUVSMGS18]

If you time it right in September you might even be able to catch World's this year. If you do play at Smuggler's Notch, and only have time for one of the two courses, definitely Brewster Ridge, unless you like rope OB everywhere, then Fox Run is your course. Multiple courses in the capital region of NY are worth playing as well, though Captain Anhyzer would probably be better suited to telling you about them than me, but Hyzer Creek is fun, and the foliage is probably amazing, and J-Park has rave reviews, though I've never played it (planning on it this year hopefully).

 

[kenjiac]

If you time it right in September you might even be able to catch World's this year. If you do play at Smuggler's Notch, and only have time for one of the two courses, definitely Brewster Ridge, unless you like rope OB everywhere, then Fox Run is your course. Multiple courses in the capital region of NY are worth playing as well, though Captain Anhyzer would probably be better suited to telling you about them than me, but Hyzer Creek is fun, and the foliage is probably amazing, and J-Park has rave reviews, though I've never played it (planning on it this year hopefully).

Come Visit Us! J Park, Hyzer Creek and Mine Kill State Park are our areas Best Courses.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=164
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=16
https://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=7017

 

[sidewinder22]

If I were doing this trip, I'd go north up I95, and come back through the mountains of NY and PA. I'd be pooped, but something like the following would epic...

Iron Hill, DE - no brainer, mins off 95. Bring your A game if you play the Golds.
Stafford Woods, NJ - quick to play and fun.
Greystone Woods, NJ - if you have time, it's a great choice.

Wickham, CT - haven't played.
Maple Hill, MA - overrated IMO, but it's still a must play.
Pyramids, MA - when in Rome.

Salmon Falls, NH - haven't played, but seems a good choice maybe.
Maine - haven't been here yet.

North Calais, VT - second fav course in the NE. RIP status might be hard to gain access outside dubs.
Smuggs, VT - a little overrated, but Worlds duh.
Otter Brook, NH - fun wooded course.

Frost Valley, NY - call ahead and make sure open and maintained. IMO the best course in the NE.
Warwick, NY - love this course. Private Oasis course also across the street.
Mine Kill, NY - great open course.
J Park, NY - cool course.

Nockamixon, PA - epic NE woods course.
Muddy Run, PA - fun big course in PA, immaculately maintained and one of the best in PA.

Paw Paw, WV - two of my favs, easier to take I-81 to NC instead of I-95 from here.
Ditto Farms, MD - fun course on way to Paw Paw.
Greenfield, VA - great course close to 81.
Ashe County, NC - best public course in NC IMO
Heritage Farm, NC - new private course haven't played, but heard good things.
Sugaree, NC - epic, RIP'd but probably open
Black Jack, NC - epic, RIP'd and might be hard to gain access outside of dubs.

I-95
Lake Marshall, VA - Flyboy of the middle Atlantic but bigger.
Hawk Hallow, VA - might still be my favorite in VA, might be open in Sept.
Blockhouse, VA - country club.
Deep Creek Dreams, NC - reminds me of Blockhouse in a lot of ways, but enjoy playing DCD slightly more.

 

[armiller]

Great info here, thanks!



Depending on how much time I end up with there will probably be a camping night at the Blockhouse. I still haven't played Hawk Hollow, although somehow I have an ace there.

I'm guessing that's an ace with a disc that's never thrown? Very nice.

 

[atl scott]

Great info from everyone here. I have some serious planning and thinking to do. Hoping to make this an epic trip.

I'm guessing that's an ace with a disc that's never thrown? Very nice.

You guessed it! I had to back out of the Hawk Hollow meet due to work but the guys hooked me up with some great swag anyway.

 

[blazerico]

You can't skip PA. Only play Tyler if the layout is a good mix of mid and long positions, but don't feel bad if ou skip it all together and just play Nockamixon. My plan would be:

Iron Hill
Tyler and Nocky (or just Nocky)
Greystone Woods or CampGaw if mighty gaw layout is up and everything is mowed (Gaw takes precedence if it's mighty)
Warwick (silver to blue) classic course and still holds up against almost any other place
Joralemon (a must. great lines in moss covered rock outcrops)
Smugglers
Sabbatus (haven't been, but definitely want to)
something in NH (I've only played Bellamy and it was okay)
Borderlands
Maple Hill (bring discs you don't mind losing in the water)
Wickham. Consider Nichols Field too
Stafford Woods
Brandywine

I like to take my time, play good rounds if possible and take some side trips along the way. Ideally, I'd spend at least a week hitting the courses above

 

[atl scott]

Well, it's official. I'm leaving for this road trip in... 4 hours.

Tue: 8 hr drive to Iron Hill (DE)
Wed: Stafford Woods (NJ), Wickham Park (CT), Willow Valley (RI)
Thu: Maple Hill (MA), Smuggler's Notch (VT)
Fri: Sabattus (ME), Salmon Falls (NH)
Sat: 10 hr drive home

Overall about 2500 miles give or take and more rounds than I've played all year this far (3?). Will be a last minute getaway from work and will be playing mostly conservative, pretty quick golf to preserve my arm and keep things moving so I can get to all the courses. Will bring my total states played to 46 with Alaska, Washington, Idaho, and Montana remaining.

Thanks to everyone who gave valuable input into my travels. Catch you on the flip side.

 

[paulw]

Wow -- odd choices but hey, whatever floats your boat.

Tue: 8 hr drive to Iron Hill (DE) (Beast of a course -- if you're only going around once add Stafford in the late pm, while I play Stafford the most these days it's a MUCH easier walk than probably all the rest of these although I'm not familiar with Willow Valley, Sabattus or Salmon Falls)
Wed: Stafford Woods (NJ), Wickham Park (CT), Willow Valley (RI)
Thu: Maple Hill (MA)(If you get a hot, humid day and play the long layout here Maple Hill is a MONSTER to walk/play. It's way harsher than the pro's make it look on video and throw in any precipitation -- good luck getting to VT), Smuggler's Notch (VT)
Fri: Sabattus (ME), Salmon Falls (NH)
Sat: 10 hr drive home (heal up)