Pros:
Blissfest is the name of a folk music festival that takes place every July near Cross Village, MI (at the far northwest corner of the mitten). For the rest of the year, the festival grounds are mostly unoccupied and play host to a campground - as well as 19 holes of disc golf.
The Blissfest grounds are overflowing with natural beauty, and the disc golf course offers a great self-guided tour. The course plays in kind of an "L" shape, navigating out and back from the parking lot. The first five and last five holes play along relatively wide but shaped fairways, with the edges mostly defined by large pine trees. The trees have grown up a lot since the older photos here were taken. It's still pretty easy to stay in these fairways, but very errant throws will be punished. The grass was a little bit long when I visited in late August, but nowhere near thick enough to be a problem. Hundreds of small purple wildflowers were blooming on these gently sloping and curling fairways. Dozens of bees were buzzing around tending to them.
The second distinct section of the course (holes 6-8 and 12-14) plays through a tighter wooded area at the corner of the "L". These holes are classic well-executed Michigan woods holes - tight but not unreasonably so. Any birdies on this section of the course will be well earned.
The final section of the course (holes 9-11) has a similar aesthetic to the beginning section, but the lines here are a little bit tighter. #9 plays along a right turning fairway that tightens up as it goes. Several large pines guard the approach to the basket, with the lowest 10' or so of each one's branches cleared out. My favorite hole on the course was #10, which starts out on a straight narrow fairway playing slightly uphill between two rows of large spruce trees. The approach to the basket curls slightly to the right and finally reaches an open area that is maybe 50' across. This little clearing among the pine trees with a basket in the center is Blissfest DGC in a nutshell.
There is a good mix of distances in the one layout available here. The shortest hole is listed at 180' and the longest 435'. The average is about 290'. Overall, I would say that the course plays at a moderate difficulty level. Beginners will be way over par, and experienced players will probably be under par - but both groups would probably still have a good time.
The baskets are numbered Chainstars in good shape. The tee signs are hand carved out of wood - basic, but with the required info. Benches are positioned at most tees, made in the same rustic style.
There is a covered area at the parking lot with a picnic table, kiosk, and recycling bin. Next to this are two porta potties. There are a couple of trash cans scattered around the course, plus another porta potty conveniently located where the layout converges after holes 5 and 14. Speaking of which, although this is an out-and-back design you could easily play holes 1-5 then 14-19 for a shorter 10-hole round.
The last thing worth mentioning is a complete lack of any safety concerns. I always like being able to jot down "No issues" in that section of my notes.
Cons:
There aren't any navigational aids. The paths between holes were well mowed/cleared when I visited, but I would still recommend downloading the map here before going out (as it wasn't posted on the kiosk when I visited, and cell service is spotty on site). I was lucky and got enough cell service for a minute to get the map downloaded, as I did use it on a couple of occasions to prevent extra walking.
The tee signs for holes 17 and 19 were missing as of my play.
The tee pads are large pieces of carpet. These were in fine shape when I visited in August, but still not ideal I suppose. They do have brooms next to some tees which was a nice touch.
No practice basket.
I don't think you'll lose a disc in the rough here, but it's possible that one might get stuck in one of the large spruce trees. Use a spotter especially in that middle section of the course if possible.
Although many holes play slightly uphill or downhill, my feeling was that most of the time it's not really enough to actually affect play.
Other Thoughts:
If you're planning a visit during the summer, make sure that the festival is not going on - as the grounds are closed during that time.
This was my 200th course played. After more or less completing my quest to play every publicly available course in/very near Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I found myself at the end of a 9 day trip to the UP with 199 courses played, other courses more local to home that I wanted to bag in the near future, and no "bucket list level" courses within that mix. I debated what to do, and in the end decided to research courses outside of my normal "home" range but near my route home from the UP. That's when this course caught my eye.
I have absolutely no regrets about making this one #200. It is exactly what I was hoping it would be when I selected it - a solid course in a peaceful, secluded setting. Just a refreshing round with me and nature. It reminded me why I got so hooked on playing disc golf in the first place.
I was initially thinking a 3.5 rating here, but I changed my mind while writing this review and am bumping it up to a low 4.0. Similar to Superior Pines in the UP (one of my very favorites), Blissfest DGC kind of punches above its weight in my book due to the...serenity of the place. If you find yourself in or passing through the top of Michigan's mitten, this course is 100% worth the detour.