Pros:
Lake Stevens is a very well maintained course with plenty of challenge. It's short enough for an amateur or lower to enjoy, yet challenging enough for better players with more range. The baskets can kill a birdie or par chance, adding a whole new twist to the game that I like (overall). It really makes you think about your putts and sometimes you have to insert a disc through a tiny window that's absolutely impossible to do... I've seen it done though. Being someone who is constantly SAYING that he needs to work on his short game (and not really doing), this is a feature that will slaughter my score. It's nice though, because it does improve my short game, and if it doesn't it makes me go out to an empty field with a basket and work on putting.
There are trees everywhere on this course, which keeps you dry in the winter and keeps you challenged with very tight fairways. The design of the course takes advantage of every inch that they have here. Hole 4 is the only one that feels like overkill, but it's one that will make your month if you hit your birdie line (or so I assume).
Water hazards! Sometimes in the summer the bogs are just soft, damp looking areas, but in the winter it's a true water hazard. Unlike other courses with water (Rainier, Lakewood, Sunnyside), you don't need a Dragon or Wahoo because the bogs are shallow and are criss crossed with logs that you can risk a run across in order to retrieve your disc.
What else? This course makes you use most of the shots in your repertoire. The only thing it doesn't require is a big arm, which (as I've said in other reviews) is a pro for some of us...
It seems like the only way to lose a disc here is to leave it underwater or to have someon walk off with it after you've taken a blind shot.
The 19th hole is a brilliant idea, since you can't play hole 12 if school is in session. Great way to still let us throw 18, or if it's a weekend, summer, or holiday, a great way to add a playoff hole without making us play into the course again. I still say Lakewood needs to do this for anyone who's afraid of hole 9 there.
Cons:
The baskets add a whole new twist to the game. On my best day out on the course I was at least five strokes higher than I should have been thanks to the ridiculous chain placement. I call this a con because I would love to be able to say I was five strokes lower that day (which would have made it my all time best score through 18).
The spray paint on the trees is an eyesore. To do that to a park with such natural beauty is just tragic.
It's kind of off the beaten track (which I prefer) and parking is a headache if school is in session (which I don't).
I haven't met the locals, but I HAVE heard of discs walking away when they're blindly thrown. It's never happened to me, but be watchful.
This is a multi-use park and sometimes other users such as cross country teams will appear in the middle of the fairway when you least expect it. Remember the word "fore". It isn't their responsibility to wear bells and let you know they're there, but I guarantee that it will be a con if you hit somebody.
Other Thoughts:
This is a great course in general. I love playing it and try to make it a part of my usual rotation. If you have time and enjoy technical courses, make a day of it with this one and Twin Rivers in Arlington. You can always warm up your short game by opening up in Snohomish at Ferguson as well. The baskets really are a pro and a con at the same time, but they certainly make you perfect your putting and your midrange game. The way I see it is that any course that improves aspects of your game is worth playing. There's also a decent selection of discs down at Games Plus if you don't mind a guy who knows more about Magic The Gathering than disc golf hovering over your shoulder while you're browsing them. Nice guy though.