Pros:
(Disclaimer - some of this is copy/paste from my review of the West course on site!)
Northend Riverside Park is located in Big Rapids, MI. It's right on the north edge of town, but yet feels secluded. There are two 18-hole disc golf courses on site here, East and West. The two courses are right next to each other but do not overlap. There is some great signage between holes that allows disc golfers to easily play all kinds of different layouts within each course, and even between courses. The signs point out 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 hole layouts and honestly, even more layouts are possible. For example, this isn't signed but you could easily play holes 1-8 of the West course then skip to holes 12-18 on the East course for an easy 15-hole round. This is really almost a choose-your-own-adventure disc golf park which adds to the appeal, in my opinion. The park is very pretty, and for the most part dedicated to disc golf only.
The East course is the older of the two, and in general it plays slightly shorter but with more elevation change than the West course. My understanding is that this park originally had only one 18-hole course, which used the first two holes and holes 6-18 of the current East course, plus holes 1, 2, and 17 if the current West course. This East layout has a few memorable holes. My favorite was hole 10, which is the longest one on the course. It plays 540' from the long Blue tee. The first 250' of the fairway runs through a section of woods that is pretty much straight and flat, although the terrain slopes downward on the left side if I am remembering correctly. Then, the hole kinks to the right and makes its way through beautiful undulating terrain the rest of the way to the basket, with several trees in the fairway preventing an easy approach. Besides this one, there are several other holes where the elevation changes are significant enough to affect play. You will need to take this into account, and throw accurately, AND get some decent distance on your drives to score well on this course.
As alluded to above, there are two sets of tees here. The long Blue layout will be a challenging round for most disc golfers. Distances average around 325', and range from hole 3's 175' thread-the-needle downhill toss to the aforementioned hole 10. The shorter Red layout looked like it would still offer respectable challenge, while also requiring some different throws and being a little more forgiving for newer disc golfers.
The baskets on this East course are Chainstars (west course has yellow banded DISCatchers). To be honest I would like to see banded DISCatchers here too, but only because they are easier to spot in the woods. There is otherwise nothing wrong with the Chainstars. Hole 18's basket is raised maybe 8' off of the ground for a unique challenge to end your round. One basket per hole.
The two teepads per hole are concrete. Some of them could use a replacement but overall they are still in good shape. There are trash cans at every long tee, and benches at many of them.
The tee signs are decent. Those at the long tees each have a map of the hole mounted to a sheet metal sign. The hole number and distance is cut into the metal on each sign. Unfortunately, these signs do not show the par or give any information about the shorter Red layout, and there are no signs at the shorter tees.
There is a kiosk at the parking lot that has a large map of both courses, information on some of the possible layouts, and other notices. There are also two practice baskets and a porta potty nearby. Wi-Fi is available in the parking lot too!
Cons:
Besides the great layout maps between holes mentioned at the beginning of this review, there are not many "Next Tee" signs. There are a couple of places where it isn't quite clear where to go for the next hole, and several other places where you could waste time by walking to the Red tee instead of the Blue tee for the next hole, and vice versa. More signs that point towards both Blue and Red next tees would be nice.
Although the variety is good overall, it felt like there were a high number of right turning holes in the middle of the course. I may not have noticed if not for a sign proclaiming "Now Entering Anhyzer Alley" at the beginning of this stretch. I'm putting this as a Con but LHBH/RHFH throwers might love it, haha. There is also a stretch of holes between #12-16 or so that started to all feel pretty similar to each other.
Disc golfers currently have to clamber up on a couple of large rocks to retrieve their discs from the raised #18 basket. These rocks aren't quite level and this could be dangerous in wet conditions. Also, I am about average height and the rocks were barely tall enough for me to reach my disc. Some stairs here would be a good safety/accessibility improvement.
Despite the name of the park, there are no water hazards here (both courses are east of the parking lot, and the river is west of it).
The rough on some holes will be quite thick in the summer. You may want a spotter.
Road noise can be heard throughout the course, although it is less significant on the East side.
Other Thoughts:
As of this writing, using Google Maps to get here is a little funky. The road that the park is on is shown as a trail for some of its length as you approach the park, and I believe that road is the only way in and out of the park so Google was a little confused. I recommend checking the directions listed on the Course Info tab before you drive here.
Overall, Northend Riverside Park is a great disc golf option. I would not call it a destination for out-of-state DG travelers, but those within a reasonable drive should definitely check it out. Compared to the West course, I think that this East course is slightly more polished, has a better mix of holes, and has more elevation change - hence my slightly higher rating. With all of the Cons addressed this could *maybe* cross into 4.5 range, but I don't think the terrain is here to create enough "wow" factor, to push my rating to that magic 5.0 number. Still, I wish this park were closer to me and I would love to call this my home course!