Portland, OR

Pier Park

4.285(based on 108 reviews)
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19 0
wellsbranch250
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.1 years 652 played 629 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Portlandia

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:Jun 8, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

(3.645 Rating) A moderately wooded Portland area staple.
- NATURAL BEAUTY - To me, the grandeur of the Douglas Firs makes this course very eye-catching. Where I live, trees just don't get this big. Numerous trees are wider than 5 feet. On my Pacific Northwest trip that included 20 courses played, only Lake Stevens I thought had a more fascinating wooded environment. About on par with the wooded beauty of both Shelton Springs and Seatac, but with its own unique blend of elements. Overall, I scored this aspect a touch better than 90 percentile. The lack of water and subdued elevation change keeps it from going higher on my list.
- CHALLENGE - The difficulty here seemed to be set up perfect for my MA2 level skills. A majority of the holes play between 325 and 425 feet. A handful of holes have to be threaded through multiple tree gaps. Hole (15) is a monster hole requiring both a bomb and a threading. That one to me felt more like a par 4 considering it's near 500 feet long. MA2s like me will be treading around par all day, while MA1s will likely average 2 to 4 down in my estimation. MA3s and MA4s will rarely if ever finish sub-par, but the challenge is not oppressive. Most errant shots should be found with ease as there is very little overgrowth along the layout.
- HOLE VARIETY - I thought the variety was good, but not elite level. Holes twist both ways. There are a few heavily wooded holes, a couple lightly wooded ones, but a solid majority are moderately wooded with similar backdrops. Currently listed as a par 55, although as noted above, (15) felt like a par 4 for my skill level in addition to hole (18). Elevation change is mild to moderate. I don't recall any water elements.
- AMENITIES - This aspect has some room for improvement, but of what is present, it's done well. First off, brand new top-of-the-line DISCatcher baskets. Second, adequately sized concrete pads, all in great shape. Third, new and attractive tee signage, and I'll touch on more of that below. Fourth, benches at most tees. Fifth, multiple basket placements. The one major missing item is multiple tees.
- NAVIGATION AND SIGNAGE - The new tee signs look great. They have all the needed info including pin placement indicators and next tee direction. The baskets have arrows affixed to them and I saw a couple other navigational cues. The one missing item of note was a course map.
- OPEN HOURS - The main reason I was able to hit Pier Park, was because it was open super early. Like 5AM early in the summer. I was able to throw it and be back at my hotel room 40 minutes away before my wife even knew I was gone.

Cons:

Basically no cons.
- WHY NOT A 4.0 TO ME - Many who have played here before and love this place, may be disapproving of why I dropped a high 3.5 on it. I personally thought it was a really good course. The golf was high quality and the atmosphere was pleasant. I guess I just didn't feel blown away by any aspect. The amenities are nice, but far from elite level. I was expecting the challenge and variety to be more robust than it was. Sure (15) was awesome, but a few too many holes felt similar in scope. Perhaps there's a social scene here that drives an enjoyability element, which just didn't translate to this solo course bagger. On my ledger it sits at 81st out of my 623 courses played to date. Which is 87 percentile. Roughly only my top 10 percent score above a 3.75 on my ledger.
- De-ja Vu - After hole (2), my memory of the course is somewhat a blur, until (15). It's wonderful woods and all, I just prefer more differential elements. Lots of moderately wooded lines comprised of giant Douglas Firs.
- FINISH FROM PARKING - Hole (18) was in a new par 4 placement for my appearance. I liked the hole, but I didn't enjoy the long walk back to the parking area. Seemed like a 6 to 8 minute walk.
- TIME PLAY - I played at the break of dawn and got a near empty course to play. However, even with that going for me, I still spent 80 minutes throwing it solo. I have a feeling this place gets mad busy due to the proximity to downtown and the high quality golf.

Other Thoughts:

Pier Park is clearly one of the better courses in the area and I very much enjoyed my time here. Every big city I've been to, would be thrilled to have a course like this near its city center. Although I didn't play them, I'm going to assume that for most, that Milo McIver and the Horning courses are the top area destinations and that Pier Park is around a top 3 destination for Portland. Pier Park likely gets more play however, due to its location and availability. Players that find themselves in Portland for a couple days should definitely check it out. Perhaps not an ideal fit for Pro players or MA4s, due to the one tee element serving up MA2/MA1 challenges, but it's such a solid course in all the other aspects that I think almost everyone will enjoy it. Again, strong 3.5 course to me. If it were a 2 basket 2 tee course, I'd probably bump it across the 3.75 threshold. It reminded me of Brahan Springs in my home area of Huntsville Alabama, but Pier Park is a far superior example of the similar styled pair. Other sort-of comparable courses that come to mind that I've played include: Golden Gate in San Fran, Shelton Springs near Seattle, Oregon Park in Atlanta, Jefferson Barracks Original in St. Louis and Cane Ridge near Nashville.
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14 0
jasonc
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 20.9 years 258 played 35 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Superb Course, Magical Forest

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 19, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Beautiful scenery and massive, old trees every step of the way here.
-The fun factor here is huge!
-The Portland Parks & Rec crew does a great job on mowing and other maintenance. I didn't see trash on the ground.
-Teepads were in good condition, seemed on the small side, but plenty of level ground surrounding the concrete.
-The signs at each hole are excellent with the distances, hole overview and pin locations clearly marked.
-Mach X baskets were all in great shape.
-Navigation was a breeze with the course map, udisc map and next tee signs.
-There is no rough when you get off the fairways.
-The available elevation here was utilized well.
-This course gives you the secluded feel, which I thought was remarkable in the middle of the city.
-Good drainage after a complete day of rain. I didn't see standing water anywhere.

Cons:

-I spent too much time taking pictures and couldn't decide on a signature hole.
-Since this is a City park, there were some non-Disc Golfers walking through the fairways.

Other Thoughts:

I would love to call Pier Park my home course. Since that isn't going to happen anytime soon, I will be sure to come back for more each time I am anywhere close to Portland again. This is a truly special course, park and city.

As a fan of heavily wooded courses, Pier Park had been on my wish list for a long time. I was worried that it might not live up to the hype, but that didn't happen. I played an early morning round after a whole day of rain in Portland and didn't see another human until Hole 15.

There is a perfect mix of holes here to give the course the feel of being difficult, but not punishing.

I loved that Holes 1 and 18 are downhill. This is the way to start and finish a course!
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16 0
lukedpt
Silver level trusted reviewer
Experience: 24.2 years 71 played 50 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Epic course for a community park

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 21, 2023 Played the course:once

Pros:

-Healthy Mach X baskets WITH arrows to guide to next tee
-Clean concrete tee pads
-Accurate tee signs with useful information
-Variety of shots, ranging from tight and technical to wide open
-Variety of elevation
-The rough is quite forgiving, not too grown up (played in mid June)
-Course upkeep is excellent, all grass mowed and area is clean
-Bathrooms and water available
-The park is just plain gorgeous

Cons:

-Not all holes had clear lines to shape, but were still fair
-There were a few walks between holes that were confusing, but using udisc I had no problems
-Multiple paths cross fairways, so you need to be aware of random people walking through
-Limited parking

Other Thoughts:

This is an awesome course that gives an epic Portland DG experience. We originally wanted to play Milo as we came through town, but didn't because of a tournament. This course allows for short technical shots and full power bombs through massive old growth forests, still in the city. Totally worth the trip for anyone wanting to see PNW disc golf.
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24 0
HyooMac
Diamond level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.7 years 415 played 380 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Picture Perfect and Plenty of Challenge

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 17, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

+ It's common to rave about the natural beauty of this park, with its forest of towering Douglas Fir trees creating high canopies - but many of the holes themselves should also be praised. The deeply forested portion of the course runs from #3 - #15, and there are a half-dozen holes that deserve "picture postcards." They're beautiful holes to look at - in this beautiful park.


+ You will be tested by this 6000' par 54: great mix of right-to-left and left-to-right shots, along with some incredibly tight lines to hit between trees packed on fairways. Most of the holes are pretty flat, but the design takes full advantage of available elevation change on a handful of holes (two significant uphills and a few really dramatic downhills)


+ Poured concrete tees (the front 9 have numbers embedded in them). Excellent signage and navigation. Benches at every tee. The signs appear to have replaced the ones that earlier reviews found lacking. There's some stray graffiti on a few, but for the most part, they're intact. One mando to protect players on an opposing hole.


+ There's no rough to speak of. You can almost always scramble, although your line might be blocked by 200 year old Douglas Firs



Cons:

- Seven of the par 3's exceed 400', making pars tough for rec players Nothing is unfair, but unless you have the ideal combination of length, accuracy and course management skills, you might find your birdie attempts are from Circle 2 or farther out. This course demands a lot of you. - the layout has more than a few "tweener" holes. #14 and #15 are a pair of brutes with narrow gaps way down the fairway


-. The signs illustrate the alternate basket positions and lengths but they weren't using the drilled holes to indicate basket in play. This is a minor "con" because most baskets are visible from the teepad or nearby. You might do a little bit of walking up to spot a basket hidden by elevation change or some trees


Other Thoughts:

~ Course is well worn in, with concrete-like packed dirt around tees and baskets. Paths to the next tees are very easy to spot. The Mach X baskets are old and covered with stickers, but the catch well


~ The course switches to a "winter layout" to eliminate a few of the muddier holes, and it actually turns around the direction of several holes in order to make a loop (notice the odd "extra" teepads here and there)


~ As almost all reviewers have mentioned, beware of heavy playing traffic, and keep you eyes open for dog walkers and hikers. 10:00am on an October Monday was ideal though, with just a handful of other players on the course, and plenty of time to take in the amazing natural scenery


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16 0
goosefraba1
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 12.2 years 82 played 40 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Classic PARk Course

Reviewed: Played on:Jul 2, 2022 Played the course:once

Pros:

Personal Background:
#55620, current pdga rating 923, 10 years playing. Age 35.
Designed 2 permanent courses, and 2 temporary courses.
At least 80 courses played now in I think 16 states.
--‐-----------------------------------------------------------------
Course rating prior to this review 4.3
Design- 3.5
Baskets/Tees- 4
Signage- 4
Replayability- 4
Beauty- 5

20.5/5 = 4.1 ... round down to 4.0.
_____________________________________________________
Design- This is a beautiful course playing through a mature forest of old growth evergreens. I got the pleasure of pairing up with a couple of very welcoming locals that were obviously familiar with the course and active in the local club. The club and park take great care of this place. Almost zero trash throughout the course, wood chips everywhere, no significant undergrowth. In regards to design itself, every hole felt unique in both design and appearance. My personal favorite was hole 4 which was RHBH dominant but required a slight hill crest to reach the basket. Most holes were very easy to par, but fairly difficult to reach. I think the course is Blue rated, and likely lots of tweeners. Would be very curious to look at hole averages for 950 rated players during a tournament. I personally shot even 54 with 1 birdie and 1 bogey... blind.
___________________________________________________________
Baskets/tees- Baskets are incredible. Perfect catching Mach X. Never been a fan of them before, but these are well broken in. Loved them. Teepads are concrete 5×10 or possibly smaller. They are worn and will likely need replaced in the next 5 years.

____________________________________________________________

Signage- Very nice tee signs on every hole and very good next tees signs nailed into the tree on almost every hole. No serious issues getting to the next tee on any of the routes.

____________________________________________________________

Replayability- As the only real course in town, this place gets a ton of play. Obviously people want to play it over and over. It is a great track! The multiple tweener holes take away from the fun factor somewhat. Would love to have this one in the backyard!

_______________________________________^_^___________________

Beauty- Did I mention the trees??? They are incredible. It felt like a storytale. Had to remind myself a couple times that I was there to throw and not Tree-gaze. This coupled with the great maintenance is really something special.

Cons:

As noted above. Only major cons are tweener holes. However I assume that there are multiple pins and that possibly they are cured by moving the basket. Update the tee areas and tees and this score likely goes to 4.5.

Other Thoughts:

Would just like to thank the Parks department, local club, and the Pacific NorthWest for being such a great host to me and my family this past week. Life changing experiences! Will definitely be back in the future!
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11 1
n8_b
Experience: 17.8 years 35 played 4 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Disc Golf Nirvana 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 21, 2021 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Beautiful setting for being in the city, feels like you're playing through a forest
-Lots of variety in shots, some tunnel shots through the trees with a few opportunities to air out a big drive
-Great use of elevation changes
-Well-maintained course, thank you Stumptown Disc Golf for all of your hard work

Cons:

-Can get extremely crowded on the weekend
-Could use a couple more bathrooms / porta-potties (especially on back 9)

Other Thoughts:

Pier Park is the course that I learned to play on. It is easily one of best courses I've ever played. Playing through the giant trees lets you completely forget that you're in the city. Hitting the line you wanted and watching your disc flex through the woods is one of the most satisfying feelings in all of disc golf.

Be sure to check out the dream-catcher high up in the trees on hole 15.
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2 6
daim1992
Experience: 9 played 3 reviews
4.50 star(s)

busy but very fun course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Nov 29, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

A lot of fun holes great hike

Cons:

Super busy I would give it 5 stars if it weren\'t for how many people

Other Thoughts:

Best bet would be to show up early
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2 5
disc_destroyer69
Experience: 15 played 14 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Awesome course 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 2, 2020 Played the course:once

Pros:

Awesome course and very pretty. Not to crowded in the middle of a summer weekday but I know it can get more crowded. I did terrible on this course but it was still fun. Its pretty challenging but nothing that a decent player cant handle. Would recommend for sure.

Cons:

If i have to say something bad its gotta be the tee signs. Alot of them are vandalized and hard to read. Other than that theres nothing bad.

Other Thoughts:

Great course that I would highly recommend.
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5 4
puaahunter
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Experience: 14.8 years 45 played 36 reviews
3.50 star(s)

LONG on Fun 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Oct 18, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

Great tee pads. Decent signage. Excellent baskets. Helpful next tee signs. It's a beautiful park that accommodates the disc golf course very well. It's surprising how the designers were able to coax such long holes out of a relatively compact and shared facility. Well done!

Cons:

It was tough to know which position the hole was in. The signs didn't say what pat was. Some of the bag holders on the posts were broken or missing. Some sign vandalism. Even though there were "Next Tee"? signs, we still accidentally skipped two holes!

Other Thoughts:

Very impressive city park course in a cool classic Portland neighborhood.
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4 5
fastdds
Experience: 6.2 years 15 played 13 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Not to miss if in area 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 16, 2019 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Disc golf under the canopy of enormous pacific northwest evergreen. Nice baskets and tee pads. Well thought-out layout. I fair degree of elevation changes and variety of shot requirements.

Cons:

crowded, slow rounds on weekends. Large groups. Could use a few longer holes (par 4) but size of park limits distance.

Other Thoughts:

Some very tight fairways on a few of the holes requiring precision drives though corridor of fir trees. Great disc golf course for a densely populated city park.
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23 0
Schreuds2.0
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 6.8 years 93 played 81 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Very crowded, and for good reason 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 9, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

-This course has some really solid amenities, great signs (with multiple basket placements), bag holders for when it gets muddy, and concrete pads that have held up impressively to the wear this course gets.
-Baskets are Mach X's, which are one of my favorite types. They are also yellow, which is super visible, especially in the trees. I'm sure that they used to be neon yellow, but these baskets look pretty worn down. Not that they don't function well, because they do, but because the rim and other parts are super worn.
-The fairway and rough are super nice out here. There isn't any underbrush that would hide your disc, which is great because hitting trees out at Pier Park is pretty much required. The other great thing is that what this course lacks in underbrush rough, is made up for with sheer quantity of trees.
-Elevation is a key component of this course. There are some great uphill/downhill shots, some downhill death putts, I mean, all the classic examples of great elevation.
-Another hallmark of this course is the trees. This densely wooded park is one tops those places where you could plop down a basket and have a great hole without any work. That being said, this course is designed effectively with both cool holes, and flow in mind.
-Navigation is a no brained on this course, as I just said, flow is great at Pier Park. Signs are clear, and it is almost guaranteed that you will find someone to follow.
-Once you dive into the woods, like for real, you will be amazed. It is a total wow factor. There are so many trees, but, the amazing part is, you aren't playing disc golf into a wall, there are different routes to take, that is amazing to me.
-One innovative feature on the course is the tree protection. Now that I think about it, innovative might be the wrong word because it is actually pretty simple. They have put wood sticks on certain trees to protect the trees from the constant onslaught of plastic. Super nice touch in my opinion.

Cons:

-This is a very well played course. Tons and tons of people come here to play, I played on a Tuesday afternoon, and there was still a line to get to the first hole. People have good reason to come play this course, because it really is a great course.
-Because of how crowded this course is, both with disc golfers and normal park goers, there is a rather high "garbage quotient" as my dad put it. Definitely not the biggest problem out here, especially compared to some other courses of have played. But nonetheless, there's some garbage laying around.
- I feel bad bashing this course for the amount of people that play it, but it is legitimately a little annoying to wait on every hole. This course is worth waiting for, but I would much rather not wait.
-This course also doesn't have much opportunity for those "hero birdies" a lot of times, to really park a hole you have to get lucky. It is one of those places where you can miss your line by a three feet and end up in the circle, but miss by an inch and end up 50 feet in front of the tee pad.

Other Thoughts:

Great course, swing by if you are in Portland, try to play on a less busy time, like early morning on a week day if possible. This course gets crowded.
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12 0
naman919
Experience: 2 played 1 reviews
3.50 star(s)

Worth the trip 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 14, 2019 Played the course:once

Pros:

- The baskets, pads, and signs are all nice and for the most part maintained
- There is little to no underbrush so it's pretty tough to lose a disc
- This is a good course for players of all skill levels. There are a handful of tight drives from the pad, and for the most part the course allows for open shots.
- The course wasn't too crowded and the people on the course were helpful and friendly
- There is some elevation which makes the round an enjoyable hike through some terrifically large cedar trees

Cons:

- There are conflicting signs on the course that need to be updated. E.g. there's not a sign for hole 7, then there are two signs for hole 14. I felt like i was going crazy trying to keep track of where i was after hole 6.
- The numbers embedded into the concrete pads aren't always right. E.g. i think hole 10 has a "9" embedded. Further adding to me feeling like i was taking crazy pills.
- It'd be useful if the tops of the baskets had one of the metal chain holders painted to indicate which direction one should travel to the next pad. it's a clever way to provide some help to new players in the area and it's fairly common.

Other Thoughts:

- The course is located in a remote part of the city next to a skate park, and a bunch of apartments and homes. It's a neat little park that feels like its own island.
- Overall i wanted to love this course and i don't understand the excessively high average rating. This course is a lot of rinse and repeat for the holes. It's not a terribly challenging course, and the Mach X baskets are just okay. The chains added to the baskets as a second layer still allow some spit outs, which is annoying.
- Perhaps my East Coast bias is showing, but i expected the course to offer some variety, and it came up short. It was a fun course, i probably would go back, it just doesn't meet the expectations set by the average it has earned. The course design could have been thought out a little better, the baskets are in simple positions.
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8 1
Breh
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 13.8 years 191 played 189 reviews
4.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Aug 11, 2018 Played the course:once

Pros:

Pier is a fantastic course set in big redwood trees. Hole 15 being a signature hole that is a tight tunnel shot around 350 feet. The course is fairly long with great use of elevation change, and variety of backhand/forehand holes. It's a very clean course with almost zero chance of losing discs. No underbrush and great tee signs. Has a winter and summer layout for a little more variety, also beautiful lime green Mach x baskets.

Cons:

Very few cons
-Some times player traffic is bad being in main part of Portland. Have to wait for multiple groups and people just jump on whatever holes they can
-having a summer and winter layout sometimes you can get turned around, or skip hole going on wrong trail.. just make sure to look at the t signs to make sure you're in right area.

Other Thoughts:

This is a must play course in Oregon and if you get up early play this without question. It's not an easy course to par and will test your game but not overly frustrating at same time
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8 4
Nate32
Gold level trusted reviewer
Premium Member
Experience: 10.6 years 74 played 60 reviews
4.00 star(s)

Beautiful course with some fun shots. 2+ years

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 19, 2017 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

Pier Park is a challenging 18 hole course with some fun shots as well as a pretty well maintained course. Pier Park is located in Portland Oregon with some very challenging holes.
It feels like almost every Saturday they have a doubles tournament at this course.

-The great things about this course is that it is has great tee pads and signs. This course is crowded on every weekend. It might even be the most crowded course in Oregon. Sometimes Milo Miciver is to far for people so they come to Pier Park.

This is probably one of the more challenging courses I have played for sure. Each hole there are different lines and shots. Its hard to select what disc I want to chose on every hole and shot.

-Also the course has two layouts so when it is winter time the ground does not get as muddy as the summer layout. Winter layout changes quite a few holes to this course as well as some fun unique holes. Number 5 is one of the most uphill holes I have ever played.

I like holes 2 through 4. On hole 2 you can play this big annie around a massive tree. There are people that have aced that hole. Hole 3 is the first hole in the woods. This hole is another fun hole just because some of the holes later have very tight gaps. This hole does not. Hole 4 is a fun S shaped hole.

There are no signs to the next hole but it is very easy to find were the next hole is. Most likely there are paths to the next hole but the holes are pretty close to each other but not squished together. The baskets on this course are Mach X and are not rusting unlike Milo.

Cons:

There are a lot of holes where you have to go up about half way to see the basket. So I wish they would put a flag on top of the basket so you can see where it is.

No pay to play but this course gets very busy whatever time of the day you are in, It is very helpful to go in the morning but it is even busy then.

Some holes on this course need clearing badly. There are a ton of trees on this course and it is very hard to manipulate your way around this course.

Other Thoughts:

Pier Park is a great course for people who have at least a year of practice because on almost every hole there are 3-10 trees that blocks your path but besides that it is great course!

- I like this course because it is long but not to long also this course does not have a lot of hills except for number 4. This course is a great course if you like technical shots around trees.

If you are in the area I would definitely check this course out. Although if you are new to the sport I would no recommend it as your first course.
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3 4
Javy818
Experience: 15.8 years 25 played 11 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Awesome course! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Jun 9, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

Beautiful mix of elevation, narrow fairways.
Tall trees. Makes you stop and look around.
Cart Friendly.
Plenty of tree cover for the rain and sun.
Got there around noon on a friday and it wasn't packed like everybody said it would be.

Cons:

Signage not good enough for a first time player. I found myself getting lost and had to catch up with an experienced group.

Kind of in the middle no where.

Apparently it gets super packed during peak hours.

No stores nearby to stock up on drinks, snacks...etc.



Other Thoughts:

I brought my GRIP bag with rain fly and it was a life saver cause it does rain in Portland whenever it feels like.
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2 7
TeebirdDan
Experience: 20.8 years 90 played 24 reviews
4.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Apr 28, 2017 Played the course:once

Pros:

love how this course plays huge douglas fir trees with a few cedars mixed in , i love these trees they make you feel really small throwing discs around and past them is sooo fun . some of the fairways are forgiving others really tight . light elevation threw out

Cons:

its in the city best to come early [am] or weekday
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1 11
Bassmaster421
Experience: 7.8 years 8 played 3 reviews
4.50 star(s)

Favorite Course! 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Sep 2, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Went about 7AM on Friday before Labor Day weekend. Only saw one other disc golfer out there. Beautiful park. Nice pads and tee signs. Well manicured. Various layouts and obstacles.

Cons:

Came across two hole 6's that confused us.

Other Thoughts:

Most favorite park I have ever played!
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20 0
Pierparknut
Gold level trusted reviewer
Experience: 10.8 years 89 played 85 reviews
4.50 star(s)

2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Updated: Played on:May 28, 2019 Played the course:5+ times

Pros:

-Pier Park is a very challenging course built in a city park in North Portland's St. Johns Neighborhood. It is the only course in the city owned by Portland Parks and Recreation.

-The scenery is unbelievable for being in the middle of a city. Massive Douglas Firs envelop most every hole. Occasional understory maples and cedars add to the scenery. The property is gently sloping and expertly used by the course designers.

-This is a challenging course, and not one to expect to stack birdies. Hole 2 is the course's shortest at 280 feet and many holes reach 400+ through tight woods lines. Even the best players are likely to take a couple of bogeys before the round is done.

-Best holes
Hole 4 is one of the easier holes on the course, a 300 foot flex shot with the basket in a beautiful bowl in the woods.
Hole 6 plays downhill, 390 feet, and open for approximately 280' before entering the woods. A straight line drive or a wide hyzer are both good choices.
Hole 15 is the signature hole of the course, playing 450, slightly uphill, and absolutely straight as an arrow through a couple dozen trees. Most players would be more than happy to take the par three on this hole. However, I had the pleasure of watching Paul Ulibarri absolutely PARK the thing in the 2018 Portland Open. He flew the fairway the entire way and did not go back-door around a single tree.
Hole 18 is a wonderful finishing hole, a gently downhill and relatively open 450-550 foot shot. It's a great opportunity to crush your last drive of the day.

-The Mach X baskets have been well used, but they still catch as expected. The tees are spacious and well textured. Tee signs are great as well. They are full-color and show both pin placements. There are also PVC pipe bag holders on the tee sign post.


-On several holes, strips of wood as well as mesh wraps are attached to trees in high-impact zones.

-Shout out to Next Adventure for being a major sponsor of this course. Check out their shop if you have a chance, on Grand and Stark. They have a wonderful selection of discs.

Cons:

-If you are a novice player, this course would not be my first recommendation. Precision is a must on most every hole and there are no short tees.

-The course, like most fantastic city courses. gets awfully crowded. It's certainly not a good place to squeeze in a quick round. I would plan for around 2.5 hours to play on a nice day. At least players here tend to do a good job of keeping group size to 4.

Other Thoughts:

-There is a separate winter layout to protect against erosion on holes 3, 4, and 5.The winter layout is: 1 and 2, 18 backwards, a temp hole, 17, another temp hole, 6-16, and another temp hole. This layout is well thought-out and equally fun.

-This is so close to being a 5-star course. I would award five stars if it had any of the following four things:
-slightly less crowds during weekends (not happening)
-no pedestrian trails running through the course (not happening)
-a pro shop (probably not, it's not CA)
-a few par fours (reasonable adjustment)

-This course is an absolute must play if you're in Portland. This is just one of so many amazing City parks in which you can go from downtown to the middle of nature within twenty minutes. (unfortunately, this is the only one with disc golf.)
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2 7
colink
Experience: 8.8 years 136 played 9 reviews
3.50 star(s)

2+ years

Reviewed: Played on:Mar 5, 2016 Played the course:once

Pros:

Nice variety of fairways (open, wooded/technical, straight, bent), multiple pin placements. It was fun to play this.
Most holes have good signs and benches.
Lots of parking.

Cons:

Really crowded, even in the rain.
Some holes are pretty muddy in the fairways.
Too many people ignoring park rules, large groups, smoking.
Needs signs to help you get from hole to hole. If we didn't follow a couple who play the course often we would not have played them in order.

Other Thoughts:

I look forward to playing this again, when the weather is better.
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10 0
Chasinchains503
Experience: 11 years 29 played 4 reviews
4.50 star(s)

You're gonna hit a tree 2+ years drive by

Reviewed: Played on:Dec 1, 2015 Played the course:once

Pros:

Pier is an awesome park to play at!

-multiple pin locations that are switched pretty consistently
-summer course vs winter course, great that they move the baskets completely around (although it only changes 4 or so holes) still fun to have different placements for different times of year
-trash:recycle bins at every few holes
-bathrooms at beginning of course and in the middle of the course (in the middle of the whole park)
-very friendly park, discers and park goers alike
-lots of ways to approach your shot on every hole, almost always 3 or 4 different ways to throw (righty or lefty)
- pretty much every hole there are dozens of trees to play thru but oddly enough they're not too envaisive to where you can't get to the basket in one throw
- decent range of length to the holes, practically all holes are around 300ft with a few short ones
- 8 or so baskets you do have elevation change whether you're throwing down the hill or up and over or just up the hole time

The list can go on and on!

Cons:

Not too many things wrong with this course

-can be over crowded with its popularity, with disc golfers and other park goers. Big groups will often times play here causing for back ups.
-Holes 7-10 can be a bit noisy since they're near the playground area so if you're shooting for a good score can be troublesome to focus
- can be confusing to play the first time at certain parts of the course. When they switch to winter course the signs don't necessarily match up correctly for what number hole the tee pad is.

Other Thoughts:

Beautiful park. It's always a great feeling when you're playing the baskets thru the middle of the park and you can look up at the hundreds of feet high trees that are surrounding you and just stare at the sky with the branches in your view.

I'll always love playing this park. Always fun. Haven't come across anyone who has played disc golf in the Portland metro area that hasn't played here yet. It's a local iconic park here in Portland and I'm glad we have it.

Reason I didn't give this a 5 rating is because I would love to see multiple pads for baskets (always fun with even more variety!) and beaches of the over popularity causing slow play at times.
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