Lots of shot-shaping holes that require different throwing techniques.

Beautiful environment

Lots of elevation change

18 holes

Poison oak everywhere

Closed during school hours

Need to scout ahead to find the baskets because there are a lot of blind shots

Definitely worth checking out if you are in the area

I love, love, love this course! It is a challenging and rewarding par 3!
The holes are short to average length (for a par 3)
Technical course
Beautiful Scenery!
Nice Baskets
Friendly local crowd
for all skill levels!
Updated and maintained often and well
A good hike

As with all the courses around here (except UCSC) there is poison oak.
I have heard there are Ticks, haven't seen any (bring your OFF! spray just in case)
The whole course is on a mountainside (roll-aways and the like are common)
Cant play during school hours

I would love to give this course a 5, but there are some dirt tees and the shortness of the holes kept me from doing so. I usually play with just a couple putters and my Tomohawk discs, and shoot around par (this is fair to decent for me). I always have a great time playing here, much appreciation to the people that keep this place the amazing course that it is!

* Abundant trees and slopes give every hole great potential for SNAFU. Or should I say "sna-FUN"?
* Decent variety of shots, with lots of elevation changes.
* Rarely crowded, friendly locals.
* Gorgeous, quiet setting on the side of a wooded valley. (Redwoods dominate.) Unless it's been very hot and dry lately, you'll pass several banana slugs.

* Holes are all pretty short.
* Though local volunteers regularly improve the markings, it can be pretty confusing to follow the course your first time.
* About half the tees are dirt.
* Relatively small window of time when you're allowed to play, since the middle school claims the grounds during the day.
* Always plenty of poison oak around. Some parts of the year, the overgrowth is really annoying, especially on the first 4 holes.
* Mosquitoes and ticks are also numerous at times.
* No facilities! Ladies will want to practice their peeing-in-the-woods skills first.

My home course, and the first course I ever played! The Mouse is great for honing your short game. (Hmm, but my long game still sucks...)

I tend to get beat up really badly on the front 9 or so, and try to rescue my score on the back.

Very unique wooded course!

We got a bit lost looking for it, but I recommend you take Highway 9 and make a left past San Lorenzo Elementary School on El Solyo Heights Dr and an immediate left on Hacienda Way. The parking lot is unmarked, but you will probably see cars with Disc Golf stickers on their windows.

Walk up towards the soccer field and towards the back part of the left goal posts. Can't miss it.

The course is definitely unique. 5 of us played and were having a blast navigating and just looking up at the massive Redwoods. We did manage to get lost and be unable to find baskets without taking a hike up and down, but there were groups behind us helping out.

BANANA SLUGS EVERYWHERE! What a unique and beautiful creature. They are hanging out on the ground in Poison Oak and on trees. Look for a bright yellow banana. If you pick one up, kiss it for good luck and gently place it back where it came from.

It was raining that week and the ground was damp and wet looking, but our discs and bags didn't get all muddy and dirty like they would on a course like DeLa where a towel is a must. That was strange.

The distances are deceptively short, but the trees and hanging branches make every hole almost a luck shot. If I go back I am only bringing a putter, stable midrange, flippy midrange and something like a Outlaw for forehand drives. Rollaways are almost non existent compared to DeLa.

Leave your stools at home. There are plenty of cut down trees and stuff to sit on. Just watch out for Poison Oak.

Even with it's short layout this course will test all your shots. Backhand, forehand, Tomahawks, Thumbers even Turbo Putts will be needed!

Poison Oak everywhere.
Signage isn't extremely clear as to where to go.
Half of the Tees aren't paved, so you half to guess where they are.
Some baskets are super close to Tee boxes so there will be backups on the course.
No smoking and drinking allowed.
The disc golf is so much fun that you have to stop and smell the roses! Seriously, ENJOY THE VIEWS! It's beautiful out there!
There are sings pointing to the next Tee box, but they aren't super reliable so bring a map on your phone just to make sure.

It'll never host a major tourney, it won't get a ton of players due to it's rural location, the Poison Oak will piss off some others who come into contact with it, but it's a hidden gem and you need to play it for a good time.

I really enjoy this course. Love the trees (great rain course), nice technical shots within redwoods. My first ace was here

A bit out of the way for me to get there now but that's part of its charm t oo.

used to play here a lot as an alternative to the busy DeLa but I movec north and havent played in many years. I hope its as fun as it used to be.

Probably my favorite course. The location is worth it alone. Seated in a redwood forest next to a school, Black Mouse has short, technical holes with plenty of tight tees and trees to turn an easy birdie to a double bogey.

The course is poorly marked, like almost not at all. If you are going for the first time I hope you are going with someone who's played it before or you might get a little lost.

Black mouse is a wonderfully hilly and tightly wooded course located on the San Lorenzo Valley Middle School grounds. After walking across the field and on to hole one you get to see the very ingenious course donation bin with the black mouse drawing on it.

This course requires accuracy on tight but short lines through the trees and challenges just about anyone attempting the course. I can see scores from 2-6 or more depending on a bad tree kick, roll away or some other disaster through out the hole.

Climbing up and down the hills here isn't too bad as there is a nice canopy of red wood trees keeping plenty of shade through out the area. Also I believe just about every tee pad was accompanied by a shady bench.

This course differs from the local area courses in that it is quite short and has tight woods which means if you are a long bomber this might not be your cup of tee.

I was lucky enough to play with people who have played the course numerous times and knew where to go but I could see that navigation could be an issue especially if you are walking up the wrong hill just to walk back down and try again. There were also a few blind basket locations that you will have to do some recon on and walk up and find them before you throw.

Tee pads (I use that term loosely) are mostly dug out dirt pads with roots in them or nearby. Not that you need to do a huge run up here but the pads are all very short and being a big man myself with a large stride I had problems, heck my size 15's barely fit on some of these!

The course is located on the school grounds which makes the course all but unplayable on the weekdays except after school hours which is kind of bummer for people like me who like to rise early and play 7 am rounds on the weekday.

This is a very fun course for just about everyone and actually reminds me of one of my home courses in Washington called Lake Stevens DGC. Being from out of town and only playing bomber courses until this point I really liked something that reminded me of home and challenged my putter game. I wish I had gone to a middle school with a Disc Golf course on it especially one this fun would have made recess an even bigger blast!

The Monterey/Santa Cruz area is a mecca for Disc Golf. Black Mouse fits in to the set of local courses. Being shorter and very tightly wooded it stands as a nice counterpoint to the nearby Delaveaga.

The entire course is built in a grove of 200' tall redwoods on a fairly steep hillside. Nearly all the shots are blind ones between 150' and 200' in distance. Elevation comes into play on every shot and nearly every shot will require you to hit a tight window. Definitely a control course. Power doesn't really matter as much here. I don't have a lot of power and I threw a putter, midrange or fairway driver on nearly every shot. The Destroyer only came out for one hole.

There are plenty of birdies to be had here. If you hit the right window and your drive doesn't roll you will be in good position to birdie on just about every hole. Oh but if you hit the first tree you will be fighting to get a 4.

Roughly 10 or 11 of the 18 are right doglegs so there's a bit of a Lefty/Flick bias here. If you're a righty and don't have a flick you can use this tool to really tune your turnover game or pick up the flick. Buy a Firebird and come give it a try. Having a thumber and/or tomahawk opens up a lot of routes as well, since it's short you have a lot of options if you can hit a window.

Friendly locals. I came alone and met up with guys that I enjoyed playing three rounds with.

Poison Oak.

Restricted hours on weekdays due to the adjacent school.

Technical, unique holes, secluded in the redwoods. It is a beautiful course in the forsest

can be easy to use discs, some starting pads are dirt. This course is hard to find if you do not know where it is prior to going.

-Oasis in the redwood forest
-Very challenging shots
-Not busy, feels like you're the only ones there
-Nature at it's best
-Wide variety, makes you it your lines
-Refreshing round

-Can be difficult to find your way around
-Signage could be better
-On High School property so no "extra curricular" activities
-Good walk to get to the first tee
-Some holes are blind which can be tough since this is pretty thick woods.

-This is one of the most beautiful courses in the greater Bay Area. Redwoods are gorgeous!
-Even on very hot days it's cool and refreshing.
-A MUST play if in the area.

+ WOODED and hilly
+ Every shot must be clean and tight, or very lucky
+ No better place to work on your mid/short game. The most technical course around here. Variety of left and right finishing, up and down finishing holes.
+ Awesome hike up and down and up and down a redwood forest mountain
+ Almost no crowds
+ Friendly golfers
+ No need to bring your bag
+ Can easily play two or more rounds back to back
+ Fun

- WOODED and hilly
- No long holes...
- ...So no chance to really let anything soar
- At least half the tee pads are dirt (but redwood dirt that doesn't get as muddy, and you don't need run-ups anyway)
- Functionally no signage
- Roll-aways, especially frustrating on blind shots
- Tough on first-timers without a guide
- Standard Central-Coast PO
- Some funky baskets

Since I moved to Felton, this has shifted to my home course. I've played probably 3 rounds a week each of the last 6 weeks, and I've almost entirely stopped coming out of the mountains anymore.
My first two experiences at B Mouse (about 8 and 1 years ago) weren't positive as I spent too much time trying to find my way around. There are now "next tee" signs (keep an eye out for these) which help, but it can still be pretty rough. The google map does a decent job though, just subtract two from every hole number. This time around, I was guided by someone I met at the course. Since then, I've done the same for two others.
This course is WOODED. Seriously. Leave your DX/D plastic at home. This isn't the place to work on your drives (though I now drive my Buzzz far more often on other courses), but this course will help the rest of your game in an unparalleled way. You will need every shot in your bag except your big arm bomb. I do pack a driver for the uphill FH hyzer on 9, but honestly, you would be fine with your favorite mid and a putter, assuming these are your most accurate discs. If they aren't, YOU NEED THIS COURSE. Provided you can throw 250', hyzer and anhyzer, all that stands between you and a birdie on every hole is missing the trees, which you won't do at least once. When you do hit these trees, know that there are a few holes that can allow your disc to carry a long way down the mountain, either in the air or in a roll. This is made even worse by the few of these that are blind shots at fast fairways/greens. I threw my favorite Buzzz on #3 a couple days ago and thought I parked it. Instead, my disc vanished.
It's not a long hike, but it's steep in parts. Pack your water.
I don't know how to say this last part best, but, it's just a fun course. So fun. Everyone who plays it (with someone who knows their way around) loves it. Pure disc golfing. No pretention, none of the DeLa crowds, just fun disc golf. You'll leave with a smile on your face.
The lack of proper tees, non-uniform pins, poor/non-existent signage, etc, hurt this course's rating in those areas. The beautiful forest, the variety of shots required, and complete FUN of this course max out those portions of the rating. So, what rating to go with? I suppose it depends on what's important to you whether this course gets a 2.5 or a 4.

Challenging technical shots, lots of hiking included in layout, uphill & downhill holes.

Poison oak, lots of hiking included in layout, lack of signage, dirt tees (less than half), very short holes.

Lost a disc, darn!

- Cool wooded course, beautiful hike
- A good variety of technical shots
- Mild elevation changes, both up and down
- Some fun blind shots (spotter is always helpful)
- Not too big a risk of losing discs

- The course has been revised to start at hole #3, and then finish at hole #2. Not all the baskets and tee pads have been renumbered yet, so the course is a little tricky to navigate. I posted a revised map that hopefully will help a bit.
- If you overdrive #4 (old #6) then kiss your disc goodbye into the fenced off area (lost my first disc here)
- Poison Oak
- No real big drives

When we were there Hole #14 (old #16) was being repaired, so if there's no basket present, play tee pad #15 (old #17) down to basket #17 (old #1). Then just go back up and play 15 again to it's normal basket.

Cool atmosphere-Redwoods everywhere. There was a good mix of mostly mid-range caliber type of shots and a couple longer drives. This was a fun and challenging course that would be suitable for beginners.

I thought the navigation was ok; I started on 17 by accident. Also, only a few tees had signs available and info was incorrect. For the locals: due to the location, this course is open later in the day during the week (open all weekend).

This course came as a recommendation from a local after I had finished up a course nearby. I'm glad I went here. The forest was very cool and I had not played in that kind of surrounding before. Although, the course had many blind shots, I actually enjoyed this technical-challenging aspect of the course. But, I wouldn't mind seeing 1-2 longer hole positions.

-In the redwoods
-Good variety of short holes
-In the redwoods
-Surprisingly easy to navigate with a map (The GOOGLE map linked here, not the other one)
-Fantastic seclusion from the world
-FUN
-In the redwoods

-No big-arm shots
-Very little signage (only a few on tees and none provided accurate info)
-Restricted playing times
-More than enough blinds, but the course is short so they usually require only a short walk

Black Mouse plays along a heavily wooded hillside behind a Middle School. The redwoods tower above the holes while smaller trees grow closer to the bottom of the course, and ground cover varies from beautiful green ferns to bare, spongy dirt. Some of the trees were much taller than the holes were long. For me, this is heaven.

The course is very tight, both in the design of the holes and the course itself; the 18 holes cover a surprisingly small area. With a map, though, we had no issue navigating. There was always a trail that headed precisely in the direction the map told us to.

Upon arriving at the top of the stairs, you are immediately greeted with the first tee, which plays uphill into the forest. You end up near the school a couple of times in the first few holes, but after hole 7 its just you and the woods. Hole 6 is a wonderful downhill hole, narrow, steep, and scenic.

Hole 7 appeared to us to have three tee pads. No other holes had obvious multiple tees, but this one did. Perhaps this is one of those 'confusing' parts of the course, but we were pretty easily able to figure it out.

The back half of the course is really just a peaceful, secluded experience in the woods. Voices echo, the sun is hidden, and everything maintains a universal calm. A deer grazing right off the course fit right into the scene. Places with multiple trails usually had signs indicating 'next tee,' and we never spent more than a minute figuring out where the next hole is (except for the three tee's on 7). Other groups in the area could be heard but not always seen. All the while, you are...oh yeah... playing disc!

The final 5 holes or so play in the same general region, following more or less a back and forward pattern working its way downhill. These were by far the most 'typical' golf holes, with no extreme elevation or crazy tree riddled fairways. 18 itself is a short right turning dogleg (as are quite a few holes here), but down a steep hill. It ends within feet of hole 1, begging you to go for a 2nd round.

This is a course I will make some time for every time I am in the Santa Cruz area. While DeLaveaga is the obvious destination course, and even has a couple holes sort of like the ones at Black Mouse, there is just a really really cool solitary vibe up here that can't be had anywhere south. The big arms may complain that they can't open up, and the ultra-beginners may find some 'un-fairways,' however after a round here, it's hard to leave without a big smile on your face and a little bit of peace of mind.

* Beautiful old redwoods provide a classic Californian background for this course *
* Many holes are tightly wooded, requiring careful shots *
* Soccer field right before first teepad lends itself to a great warm-up practice *
* High difficulty due to tight shots, elevations changes, and a rugged hike *
* The whole course is shaded from the sun *

* Many teepads are too small, also with some scary drop-offs, off of the front of the pads even *
* Almost every hole can be described as "dog leg to the right, basket is out of sight" *
* Course is located on a middle school, not playable during the school hours *

This course is a great course, however needs some upgrades and maintenance. I would like it so much more if there were formal teepads on every hole, instead of the dirt pads with roots popping out of them, knocking you off into steep declines, and breaking your ankle or neck.

Also since there is a ton of shade, and elevation changes, its easy for your disc to fall out of sight, and into some bushy clusters. Keep an eye on that flight at all costs.

Black Mouse might not be a fantastic championship caliber course like some of its nearby brothers, but it certainly is a Funtastic challenge through tight woods and great elevation. Along with this Funtastic rating, the course also caters to a wide variety of skill levels. Newer players will find several uber short holes where they can find some birdies and harder holes where they'll have to hit safe landing zones. More skilled players are going to have to throw accurately through some tightly wooded fairways and probably have to make a good save or two for a clean round.

Terrain and variety: Most of the holes here are moderately to tightly wooded and shortish so players won't really have too much opportunity to air out big drives but everyone will be required to throw a variety of shots off the tee. Several downhill holes require keen distance control on putter/midrange shots and several uphill holes complement this nicely with demands on accuracy and power. All types of twists and turns will have players reaching for backhands, sidearms, and perhaps a tomahawk or thumber to achieve maximum opportunities for birdies.

Natural beauty: This course really feels like a quiet walk in the woods even though you are just a few hundred feet from a large playfield and several residences. There are points which are quite serene and beautiful, especially when bumping up against a few old giants of the forest - huge tree trunks that must be very old indeed.

Distance/Challenge: The Black Mouse needs just a bit more evilness if you ask me. Many holes require only a long putter or midrange and there aren't really any true multiple shot holes although the potential is certainly there for a few bigger holes. If I had my way, I'd likely cut down on the total number of holes (a violation of the 'magic number', 18) and put in a couple of bigger par four holes to complement the variety of par threes already available.

Navigation: For the most part, it isn't that hard to find your way around but near the end, the course plays back and forth over a small side hill where the holes aren't numbered all that well. There isn't much signage here, or through the rest of the course, but this is the section that seemed particularly challenging to navigate and we had to back track more than once to make sure we found all of the holes.

Black Mouse has one of the best methods of raising course funds that I've ever seen - players have outfitted an old metal blocker post with a small hole and locking hinge that you can drop a few bucks in to help support the course. Of course we dropped a few dollars in before the round and after playing, felt compelled to clean out the rest of the change from our disc golf bags as a testament to the fun we had playing the course. Really this course aims to please a wide range of skill levels from somewhat new players who will find a great challenge to veterans who will rack up bunches of birdies but will have to throw good shots to do so.

- Beautiful redwood grove that this course is in provides shade and cool from the summer heat
- On the grounds of a School so Kids get exposed to the sport
- Tight and technical course with lots of good lines through the woods. Requires accuracy not distance.
- Short distances around the course help even out rounds betwen big armed throwers and people who can't get it over 300'
- Benches around the course
- Holes vary from straight ahead to hyzer and even anhyzer shots.
- Lots of elevation change providing up hills, down hills and side hills
- Well manicured fairways with alot of the underbrush taken out
- Small next white tee signs around course help with flow
- Easy to find course, close to highway 9
- Close to De LaVeaga

- No real "grip it and rip it" holes, most are around 200-250
- Can be hard to find your way around the first time, even with a map
- Tee pads are sometimes shorter than I would like, but you usualy don't need a run up.
- You can only play after school hours
- Baskets are tucked up behind trees and you will often have to walk up the hole to see where the basket is
- Some poison oak and blackberrys off the fairway
- Numbering is wrong on some baskets
- On school grounds so no drinking / smoking

Just minutes off of Highway 9 lies the beautiful little 18 hole course known as Black Mouse. Located in the redwoods next to the local school this course is perfect to take beginers and pros to. Elevation comes into play constantly on the course and you need to keep your accuracy in check. Your better off here if you can throw 200-250' accuratly than if you can throw 500' in an open field. The redwoods provide shade and cool from the summer heat, as well as reminding me of home (my home course is The Redwood Curtain). Signs around the course are prety trashed, but you have to expect this when it's on the grounds of a school. I was lucky and had a guide when I was finding my way around, he made sure to point out to me that there were these little white next tee signs around the course. Keep a lookout for them. Definatly worth a visit if your traveling through. If your there on a weekend play it as a warm up to DeLa, on a weekday it makes a good cool down round.

The Santa Cruz Mountains rising up above the central coast are innately beautiful, combining very rugged hills, mountain streams, and giant redwood forests. The communities are quaint and cute in the small town way, with a mountain refuge-like feel. Many organizations have getaway camps in this region, for good reason.

San Lorenzo Valley has several schools bunched together on a very large sprawling property, which includes some rather beautiful redwood forest-covered hills over-looking all the campuses. It is a wonderful thing to be able to install a disc golf course on this property, as it is yet another ideal setting for our sport.

When locals in Santa Cruz say that we have every kind of course and disc golf hole imaginable, we aren't joking. Black Mouse is the rugged, tightly-wooded, technical course of the Santa Cruz area collection of disc golf course. There are simply no holes that having a big arm will help you score better. Throwing with a nice careful clean snap is key. Shot and disc selection are critical Only holes 7 and 11 require more power if you have any hope of getting a deuce, but just getting a 3 on these holes will be satisfaction enough.

The first time you play Black Mouse, you won't know all the routes available, and you might be tempted to start with the impression that this is just a "huck and good luck" kind of course. But it isn't true. There are many interesting routes and lines available on most holes, you just need to play it a few times to learn the ins-and-outs, then choose the one that you can execute best, and that gives you the best risk-reward trade-off.

The tee pads are indeed irregular in some places, and the dirt pads are often not the greatest to throw from. However, given that the course is not long, you really don't need a run up to throw on any of the holes. If you're concerned about footing, just throw without a run-up, and you'll be fine.

The restriction to non-school hours can be a hassle sometimes, but that's not a bad price to pay for having them let us onto their property in the first place.

I printed off a map of the course from the google maps link, and I didn't have any problems finding every hole on the course the first time around. I also found a lot of signs pointing to the next holes. Perhaps these weren't available when some of the earlier reviewers played this course. The course is not crowded, so you won't be able to rely on other groups to help guide you as much as you could at other courses. Come prepared, and you'll be happy. Also helps if you're not in a huge hurry, and take a minute to relax and enjoy the gorgeous redwood stands all around you.

Come out for Sunday morning doubles here if you get the chance. A lot of the pro women players in the region play these dubs, and you can see how regulars choose their routes and score well in this tight course.

As it says on the the on-line map, "It's the Maze." That's the way we felt after playing it one very warm August afternoon. Luckily, we arrived just as school was letting out. We found the start of the course easily enough after crossing the soccer field and walking up the stairs into the redwood forrest. The shade was a welcome relief from the August heat wave. The course plays up and down a hillside on a middle school property in the Santa Cruz Mts. The site features many mature redwood trees and lots of thick underbrush. The course is short (most holes are 150' to 250') and very technical in nature. Accuracy not distance is the key here. There are benches to sit on. There are some little white next tee signs. They help some. Being next to a middle school, the regular tee signs have either vanished or been vandalized.

For us navigation was a real issue. Even with the on-line map, we were stumbling around wasting a lot of time. always having to walk ahead, spotting for each other, sometimes throwing to the wrong basket. Having the wrong numbers on many of the baskets didn't help matters. As previous reviewers have mentioned, the pads aren't great. They're really inconisistent, some are blocks, some are just worn spots, some we just guessed at. Watch for the poison oak.

This is really a great little piece of land for a course. The first and most basic thing to do to help us first time players here is to get the correct numbers on the baskets. Now I realize that the constant barrage of gothic middle schoolers dressed in black, pissed at their teachers, parents and everyone else, are going to get their licks in. So every sign that goes in on a course here has to be rock proof or boot proof. It has to be mounted high enough up in the tree so that the little bastards can't get to it. Maybe get a local HS kid to make the tee signs out of strong metal in his metal shop class. I've seen them recently at a new Washington course. They're not the prettiest but they're virtually indestructible.

To the local disc club-Good Luck in this war against the local Youth Natzis! Fight the Good Fight! This course is worth it. I know I'd really enjoy playing this course if I had only known where in the hell in the Santa Cruz Mountains I Was and where the baskets were.