Pros:
The most homey of the US-285 mountain courses, with a grassy mix of aspen and pine.
-Amenities: Mostly dirt tees (which were alright), with a mix of baskets that generally catch quite satisfactorily. Tee signs with maps and multiple basket/pin placements shown, and sometimes indicated via clothespins. Some next tee indicators.
-Hospitality: Dan is extremely friendly. He'll want to know where you're from, what you're hoping for from the course, and how he can help you. I know a lot of private course owners are friendly, but Dan has one of the kindest hearts I've seen among course owners.
-Environment: Really, really pleasant place. Unlike most courses in the area, Bear Mountain is grassy throughout. It also has a great mix of the two main trees - pine and aspen. There are also nice mountain views, though possibly not as great as Glen Isle, Bucksnort, or Beaver Ranch. Mixed in is some decor, from granite slabs to mining memorabilia. This is a place I'd love to picnic, even if there were no disc golf course.
-Layout Options: There are a lot of different holes to play out here. You can play the main 22 holes, but many of the holes out here have B tees and baskets that switch it up. Lots of holes have multiple baskets to choose from. There are also holes under construction in other parts of the property that you can check out if you want a less structured round.
-Shot Shaping/Gameplay: All par-3s, with holes ranging from meh to fantastic. Especially when considering the alternate baskets and tees, the variety is great. Holes (1)-(5) are a great start, with some downs, ups, and excellent use of the aspens and pines to require shot shapes. After that was a weaker section of the course with straight shots that didn't really enthuse. However, holes (10) then (14)-(15) are stellar and make you fall back in love with the course thanks to tight fairways, moderate to steep downhills, and perched baskets. The end of the course is merely solid again. Holes are longer than they look, but the distances on tee signs are accurate. Overall, it's most comparable in gameplay style to Dreamtime Ranch.
Cons:
Not anything too big.
-Spotty Maintenance: By Dan's own admission, owning a private course can make it hard to keep up with the grass, particularly as you age and lose some mobility. That said, when I was there it was just fine and in the process of getting mown.
-Layout Overlap: On some holes, it's not clear what basket to throw out due to parallel fairways. Also, some holes require straight up throwing over another tee or into another fairway. With not much traffic it shouldn't be an issue, but I definitely had to yield a couple times during my morning round.
-All Par-3s: There are zero par-4s or -5s out of 22 holes. For an otherwise well-stocked course, it's a bit disappointing not to have any placement shots or strategic multi-shot holes.
-Private Road: There are some substantial bumps in the dirt road leading to the ranch. My 2WD was fine, but expect to be traveling very slowly.
Other Thoughts:
I found Bear Mountain hard to rate. Did I like it? For sure. The hospitality is exceptional, and the environment was very charming. Plus, there are some fantastic holes thrown in. However, there's a lot of merely solid holes that aren't particularly beautiful or interesting. In the end, I decided that the experience as a whole was worth an Excellent rating. To me it has less consistent design than some of the other US-285 courses, but it feels more homey. In a metro area, this would be a local favorite, and it's worth a visit if you can make it out.
~Similar Courses: Dreamtime Ranch (Hartsel, CO); to some extent, any of the US-285 courses nearby; in a strange way, kind of like a mountain version of McCurry Park (Fayetteville, GA).